One Dollar of Faith - by Mark Billingsley

Faith often develops in small but significant ways. Here is one quite literally from the dollar menu. While I was still young in my faith, God revealed Himself in a $1 bill. It has nothing to do with the national motto being imprinted on it. It only took a dollar for me to learn that I could not out-give a God who is willing to show-off in His generosity to me.

The dollar that I refer to was a single dollar bill that I had in my wallet one Sunday morning while I was in college. I knew that I needed to cover my supper that evening as the dorm cafeteria did not provide Sunday evening meal. I could have easily passed the offering plate without making a contribution, but I put my last dollar available to me that day in the offering at church believing that God would provide my evening meal.

Being 1977, one dollar was sufficient, but being before the time of ATMs or other check cashing services being available on Sundays, I was trusting that God would provide or I would need to wait until breakfast Monday. In 1977 cars had abundant ash trays but no cup holders. I didn’t smoke and never allowed anyone to smoke in my car. I hardly ever put anything in the ash tray as it was inconvenient for anything but ashes and not in a good location for loose change.

But for some reason after church when I got in my car, I opened the ash tray. In it was a single dollar bill. I later connected it with a neighbor in my dorm who had borrowed my car to run to the grocery store – but that day I realized that this was just the hand of God demonstrating that I could not possibly give Him more than He has and will give me.

I don’t believe that God is a machine, where you put in some money and you automatically get more back. But He does have a way of showing-off when you least expect it. And anything we give Him is a pittance compared to all He has already given us.