God created the heavens, the earth, and all that is on the earth. So there is nothing anyone has that does not originate from God.
Believers cannot give anything to God that does not originate with Him.
God gave Abraham a son when he had none, and then God wanted Abraham to sacrifice his son.
What Abraham was able to give to God originated with Him. Therefore, it was God who gave Abraham to give to God.
His son, Isaac, had to be the best because God wanted Abraham to offer up his son when the time came, and it had to be the best. God will not want a second-best sacrifice.
Why do we give God the best? It is because He gives us the best.
God instructed Moses that the sacrifice had to be a lamb without blemish (i.e. that is aesthetically perfect); it had to be perfect.
When God offered up Jesus to us, He was perfect without blemish.
So when we offer up anything to God, it has to be a perfect offering from our hearts; by the Grace of God, we give Him to the best of our ability.
Why do we give God the best? We can give because He gave us to give. The Heavenly Father gives us the best to give. What we give originates from Him.
Have we given to God much that He needs to pay us back? Not at all because what we give to Him originates from Him. By the grace of God, He has given us everything.
The Old Testament tells how David wanted to build a temple for God and how he had given a generous offering from his wealth and collection from the prosperity of the people of Israel. They collected an enormous amount of gold, silver, precious stones, and other materials needed for the building.
David recognised that :
• Everything in heaven and on earth is the Lord’s.
• Wealth and honour come from the Lord.
• He needed to give thanks and praise because all is the Lord’s; this is the highest way to remember all that we have is the Lord’s.
• Even though David and his people had given very generously for the building of the temple, he acknowledged that everything came from the Lord.
• All he and his people gave came from God’s Almighty hands.
• All the abundance (cannot be counted) came from His hands; the wealth and the success did not trap him in pride.
• All that was in his hands belonged to God.
When God gives us to give to Him, it is God Who provides for Himself.