Shall It Be Thirty Thousand Dollars? by I. H. Evans

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Jul 17, 1913

Shall It Be Thirty Thousand Dollars?

By I. H. Evans

THE Midsummer Offering is at hand. Sabbath, July 26, brings to us the time when the people of God are to make a special donation for the advancement of the Lord's work.

One likes to think of making an offering to the Lord. There is something in such a thought so different from making a present to our earthly friends. When we make a present to our friends, we often fear that the present may not be acceptable, or that it is not suitable for the occasion, or that it is not sufficiently nice and costly to please. These feelings haunt us, and oftentimes embarrass us. But when we give to the Lord, we are always sure he will accept the heart-offering, be it more or less. With the Lord the amount is of far less value than the love that prompts the gift. With God it is not how much that is of value; but, Is it from the heart, and is the gift sanctified by love and sacrifice?

God has many times exhorted his children on this question of giving, and does not leave us in doubt concerning our duty. "According as a man hath," "As God hath prospered him," "For God loveth a cheerful giver," are the maxims for giving that make both the gift and the giver acceptable to God.

God would ever have his people remember his greatness, his glory, his power. God is never a beggar, is never one who cannot get on without his children's offerings; but he puts it in our hearts to give, not because of his necessity, but for our sakes. Of God's own ability to supply his needs he says: "For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills;" "If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof;" "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts;" "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof." Yet this gracious God reckons to our credit what we give to him, though all is his own before we give it. Though he has power to take from us what he has given to us, yet when we give to God he gives us credit and recognition for our gifts. We take of that which he has given to us so freely, and give to his service, thus securing from God credit for all we have done in his name.

Not only does God give us credit for what we give to him and to his work, but he promises to give to us more than we give to him. We read from these words of Christ: "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again." Thus we see that when one gives to God, he does not even beggar himself; he does not lose what he gives; but it is multiplied unto him in more abundance.

There remains much to be done in bringing the fifteen cents a week for the first six months of the current year to the full average quota on the membership basis. It will take more than $80,000 to make up the shortage that has not been raised on the Fifteen-cent-a-week Fund during the first half of 1913. Why not every believer examine his account with God, and see if he has given to God not only his full tithe, but the offerings that will please the Lord? The number of new workers voted to foreign fields during the recent session of the General Conference demands a full fifteen cents a week from our constituency. There is no investment in banks, stocks, or bonds that will pay so large eternal dividends as the investment we make in the souls of men. Other things may bring a good percentage for a time, but the investment for eternity far outstrips all other investments ever made by man.

We are now living in the time when we are to behold the finishing of God's work. There is no release from service for those who expect to enter the kingdom. A withdrawal now from service means a separation from God. We are in the very midst of the great conflict with the evil one, whose opposition to God and his work is bitter, determined; and the struggle is final. It is now the death-grip between righteousness, truth, and heaven on the one side, and evil, falsehood, and the powers of darkness on the other. In this struggle there is no compromise, nor is there any way of not entering the struggle. We are either on the one side or on the other; we must be either for God and his cause, or for the enemy and against the cause of God. Neutral ground, there can be none.

If man should forbear now to support the work of God, if there should be a withholding of means, or if some should lose courage and give up the battle, God must supply himself with other agencies with which he can finish his work. Our salvation depends not alone on our theoretical faith in Christ and in the Word of God, but in our relation to the finishing of this great work. It is truly most encouraging how our people have rallied to the support of the cause of God. The last year was the best in our denominational history. The money rolled into the treasury beyond expectation, and when the end of the year was reached, there were but few thousand dollars short of the full fifteen cents a week per capita.

This year we not only desire to make up the full amount of fifteen cents a week, but for the last half of 1913 we hope to swell the amount to at least twenty cents a week per capita. This means a close, hard struggle; it means the falling into line of every man, woman, and child who believes this message, and a constant, persevering, weekly donation for the support of God's work. Truly every believer must desire to participate in the finishing of the Lord's work. It is the last chance in all eternity of ever showing our love to God, and our zeal for the honor and glory of his name, when that love, honor, and glory can do good to those whom God desires to save.

Some of us are unable to go to foreign lands, others are needed in the home land, and some must remain in the shop and in the field earning money and providing sinews of war. This Midsummer Offering is a time when we should make large donations to promote the work of God. The demands for an advance move are definite, and need no argument. The Macedonian cry is sharp and clear, coming from every land on earth. So the donation to the work of God should be large and liberal this year. We must not forget to whom we give. It is not to man; it is not to a committee; it is not to some finite, human being; but to the great, eternal God, who so loved us that he sacrificed all to enrich us. Do not forget the time of the offering, Sabbath, July 26. Plan on it definitely, and let us make this offering the most liberal Midsummer Offering yet collected by our people.

I. H. EVANS, President North American Division Conference.