19 Million Dollars Raised In A Day

There was a little online frenzy yesterday after a local newspaper group published on their website an article of how a church managed to “raised” 19 million dollars within 24 hrs on their Sunday services for their church’s new building fund in the midst of such economical downturn. This article was also published as front-page headlines on one of their minor newpaper, see here. (If the newspaper site is no longer available, a fellow blogger had it on his site, see here)

In the midst of the cut-backs, gloom and more gloom, this piece of news must have caught the world off guard. While big corporate companies have raised billions of dollars in bailouts, renewed stock funds and stock options, such are “old-news”. Then why would a church collecting their own building fund internally appear on the news, front page nevertheless?

I believe in the midst of darkest darkness, the Church will light up the world; with the Light that is in us.

Sadly, the negativity of the world immediately poured in; fast and furious. Questions darts out generally are like why does the church needs such large-extravagant building, the money can better help the poor and a simple building would suffice Christ’s image, among other things.

I was reminded of an account in the Bible.

Six days before the Passover celebration began, Jesus arrived in Bethany, the home of Lazarus—the man he had raised from the dead. A dinner was prepared in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, and Lazarus was among those who ate with him. Then Mary took a twelve-ounce jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet with it, wiping his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance.

But Judas Iscariot, the disciple who would soon betray him, said, “That perfume was worth a year’s wages. It should have been sold and the money given to the poor.” Not that he cared for the poor—he was a thief, and since he was in charge of the disciples’ money, he often stole some for himself.

Jesus replied, “Leave her alone. She did this in preparation for my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”   John 12:1-7

The world as depicted by Judas Iscariot will always dart out accusations of the waste, of the poor and of anything that can rob us of true worship of God. While the church’s members gave bountifully out of their hearts in worship of Jesus, in faith of sowing their miracle seeds and in preparation not for His burial but His coming again, would you think this is of over-extravagance?