A popular bumper sticker says: Honk! If You Love Jesus.”

Perhaps a better one would be: “Tithe! If You Love Jesus.”

A wealthy businessman and an attorney were traveling around the world. One morning as they walked along a country road in Korea, they saw a boy pulling a plow which was steered by an old man. The attorney was so moved by the scene that he took a picture of the plowing pair and later showed it to a missionary in the next village.

“It seems a very strange way to plow a field,” said the missionary, “but I happen to know the boy and the old man very well. They are very poor. However, when the little church was built here in the village, they wanted to contribute something. Having no money, they sold their ox and gave the money to the church building fund, and now, minus the valuable animal, they have to pull the plow themselves.”

The travelers looked at each other for a moment, and then the attorney said, “But what a stupendous sacrifice! Why did you allow it?”

“They did not feel that way about it,” replied the missionary. “They regarded it as a great joy that they had an ox to give to the Lord’s work.”

Giving is one way of proving our love for Christ. It is one thing to talk of love and loyalty to Christ and quite another to prove our love by digging deeply into our treasures and sharing them as He directs. Still, it is the only way to convert earthly treasures into wealth that lasts forever!