Not that there was ever any doubt...but the great folks of Sugarloaf church have proven themselves to be trustworthy! This past Sunday we distributed $5 bills to every person who entered the sanctuary for worship. Yes, there were quite a few "strange looks" given to the Ushers as they handed the money to people entering the doors. Some people had to actually be persuaded it was "OK" to take the money! The money was part of an illustration I used in a sermon on stealing. The idea was to let those in attendance know they had a choice. They could return the money at the end of the service, which is what we asked them to do; or, they could decide to take it, thus "stealing" something that wasn't theirs.
We had $2500 to distribute. We trusted those in attendance to do the right thing and return the money. As persons came forward for communion, they were asked to "bring themselves and the $5 dollars" and give both to Christ. Not only did we get ALL the money back, we got even more! We distributed $2500...we got back $2659...$159 more than we handed out!
I never doubted for a minute that every dollar would come back! There really wasn't any risk in what we did given the character of the people here in the church. But what a great surprise to see more come in than what we gave out! Come to think of it, I shouldn't be surprised. That's usually the way God works. He gives us far more than we can ever give him! It's not the lesson I intended to highlight on Sunday, but its a wonderful lesson to be reminded of none the less!
Until next time...
Stuart
