Casandra Martin

My daughter is in Africa. She is part of a medical mission team dedicated to serving people in areas without sufficient health care. Internet service is hit or miss, but we have been able to hear from her a little bit as she makes this journey of faith.

There are heartbreaking stories of disease, death, and deprivation. There are stories of joy as she experiences the universal power of a smile. The stories that have most deeply touched my heart have been her stories about worship. She is seeing God in Africa and those glimpses are shaping her soul.

This week she traveled with missionaries to a remote village. The congregation is small and desperately poor. Concrete blocks serve as pews. Together they raised their voices and their hearts to God in praise. When the time came to worship the Lord in giving, she watched several of the people place a single ear of corn in a basket. Quiet awe stole over her heart as she recognized the deep sacrifice each ear of corn represented. Their generosity honored God and imprinted a message about surrender and trust deeply on an American girl’s soul.

Never has the story of the widow and her mite been more real for me. “For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” – Luke 21:4. An ear of corn has become a mirror for my heart.

My Jesus Resolution today is to examine my giving. Giving is not a command given because God needs my stuff. Giving is a tool offered to help me step more deeply into His transformation. Giving cuts my ties to this world, releases the hold things have on my soul, and realigns my priorities with the desires of God. It teaches me who is in control, where I need to invest my heart, and how God wants to work in the core of who I am. In sacrifice, we most closely resemble Jesus. It may be time, resources, talent, money, or even an ear of corn. Whatever it is, when we give sacrificially, we pull off a layer of ourselves so that the world can see Jesus in us.