Some years ago a college in Florida received a gift to establish a museum. The huge gift came from a professor who loved to hunt. He had captured and preserved numerous South American animals. The receiving school was so overwhelmed by the donation that it spread the news widely that it had received a contribution worth far more than its monetary value. A gift with excessive value is how the Apostle Paul described the donation he had just received. His epistle to the Philippians is mainly a thank you letter to that church for its generosity in supporting him. In thanking them, he said “I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus.” He calls their gift “a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.” In other words, their gift of money was more that a donation for his well-being; it was also a fragrance wafting up to God. And as a result Paul said God would reward them—not just in a dollar-for-dollar payback. God would reward them out of his glorious riches. It’s like that song says, “You can’t beat God giving no matter how hard you try.”
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr.
Dr. Melvin E. Banks, Sr. is the founder and chairman of UMI (Urban Ministries, Inc.). Under his direction, UMI has grown to be a leading publisher of Christian education resources for churches in the African American community. Read More
