Everyone has to give something up to come to Jesus. When Bishop Bruno was with us last Wednesday evening, laying out some fundamental principles of stewardship, he reminded us that it has always been our tendency to hold something back, to not give ourselves completely to the Lord. He reminded us that when Roman soldiers of the first century were coming to be baptized, they would hold their swords above them above the baptismal waters so that there was a part of them that remained unbaptized, so that they could with that unbaptized part of them, still kill their enemies. That master of spiritual formation, Evelyn Underhill, reminds us that when we have completely come to Jesus, the radiance of God leaves no dark corners outside the reach of its light. If you never deal honestly with yourself about the place money occupies in your life, there will always be a dark corner in your life because you will be holding something back.
Worship is a bodily thing.
It is not just about our heads. It s ourselves our souls and bodies. It is about turning over to God more and more of ourselves day by day. God doesn t need your money. But God wants what your money represents.