First Fruits

First Fruits
Originally uploaded by auntjojo

My first fruits these days seem pretty meager. Paychecks are few and far between. I am exhausted running from one job to another. My spiritual life is struggling and my attitude is often pretty lousy. What does it mean to bring an offering to God not out of abundance, but out of lack? Will God accept what little I have?
The practice of giving our first fruits to God (Deut. 26:1-11) began when God brought Israel up out of the Egypt into the land flowing with milk and honey. But what happens when you are still in the wilderness? Grumbling along with all the others about having to eat manna for dinner again?
I think, in the midst of wilderness wanderings, perhaps we are still called to offer our first fruits, even if they are quite sparse. It is not that God needs what we have to offer, but that in giving we let go for a moment of our fear and need. For one second, we forget about ourselves and remember that we are not alone. God is with us.