When you have come into the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the LORD your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for His name.
Don't wait until you have plenty. Offer the first fruits. The first, the best, before you know if there will be more.
I've been practicing this with giving. Historically, I gave from my surplus - after I was secure, after I knew I had enough. But the firstfruits principle suggests something different: give first, believe God for the rest.
It's a test of trust. When you offer firstfruits, you're saying: I believe God will provide for me. I'm not going to hoard and then give the leftovers. I'm going to give the best first.
This year I committed to giving a certain percentage before I knew if I'd make my budget. Some months I was anxious. But month after month, the money came. Not always in the way I expected, but it came.
What I'm learning is that firstfruits giving isn't ultimately about generosity. It's about trust. It's about living in a posture that says: God is first. God's claim on my resources is first. And God will take care of me.
I'm also learning that this keeps me from the trap of endless accumulation. There's always another level of security you could achieve. Another amount you could save. But if you commit to firstfruits, you have to actually live - you have to trust - rather than just perpetually securing.
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