Why Do I Have “Checks”?

First, I want to apologize for not writing a blog post for a few days…I think the continual cold weather is slowing down my thinking process…either that or I just got a little lazy.

Last Sunday at Buffalo Valley we began a new series called “Blank Check”.  This is not a new term with me.  In fact, in recent times I’ve heard two different pastors use the term in sermons.  The premise is that as followers of Jesus we should be willing to give God a blank check, signed and delivered to Him for God to write down whatever amount, to whatever purpose or cause at whatever time He sees fit.  There are a lot of different thoughts that come to my mind regarding this.  Today, I want us to think about why we even have “checks” that we can write.

When you open up a checking account at the bank there is always a minimum balance that you have to deposit in order to get checks.  There is something that must be put into the account.  After all, what good is writing a check if there is nothing in the account?  We put our money into the account that we’ve earned or been given.  We all sort of understand that if we have no money, we have no checks.  If we write checks without having money in the account we get in trouble; and if we don’t stop this practice we go to jail.

So, if I am asking you to give God a “blank check” I’m making an assumption that there is something in your account.  My focus on my sermon series is time and money.  But where did you get your time and money?  From whom did it originate?  On the surface you might say, “well, I earned the money at my job”.  Good answer but where did you get the ability to do your job?  Where did you get your “time” from?  It is pretty easy to see, if we just open our eyes to the truth; that everything that we have in our “account” comes from God.  All the ability to earn money comes from Him.  All the time that we have…and none of us knows how much time we really have…comes from Him.  The only reason we have “checks” is because God has given us something in our account.

In Colossians 1 we read this:  16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.  It is through Jesus Christ that we have everything that we have.  Therefore, since it is all His anyway, perhaps it makes sense for me to offer a “blank check” to Him?  I think this is a fundamental understanding that we all need to have.  If I think my stuff is mine, then my natural, selfish tendencies take over.  But if I think that my stuff is really God’s; and that I just get the privilege to manage it, then it’s easier for me to give it to Him.  When you understand why and how it is that you have “checks” in the first place, it is much easier to write those checks.