Monday April 30, 2012

Make it your goal today to be generous with everyone you meet.

Read Deuteronomy 15:1-3

 

A friend comes to you, owing you a couple of thousands of dollars and admits that there’s no way he can pay you back. He humbly asks you to cancel the debt. What do you do? How do you react? What emotions run through your mind? If you’re like me then words like angry, ripped off, not fair come to mind.

 

And yet the people of God are called to be generous. Generous! Is “generous” a word that describes both you and your church? I hope it is.  Once you have been touched by generosity it’s hard to go back to being non-generous or greedy. And each and every believer has been touched by generosity. In 2 Corinthians 8:9 we read of the immense generosity we have received.

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Christ Jesus gave up everything, even his heavenly throne to save me and you from eternal destruction. He suffered upon the cross, rejected by man and God so that you and I can have all the riches of heaven, our heavenly inheritance.

 

For Israel being generous meant cancelling all debts in the seventh year. It meant being open handed towards those in need and not harbouring a desire to have wealth at the expense of one’s fellow country men. But I suspect that many would have schemed ways around this command from the Lord. Higher interest rates could be charged as the 7th year drew near. Lesser principle could be loaned as the 7th year approached and repayment terms could be kept under 7 years. It’s amazing how human nature tends to work for selfish gain, effectively seeking to negate the will of the Lord.

 

What will your generosity look like today and this week? Make it your goal to be exceedingly generous today with everyone you meet. Make it your goal to give generously of your time, your talents and your treasure. If someone wants 5 minutes of your time, give them 10. If someone needs to borrow $20, bless them with $40 and don’t expect to be repaid. When you come to church, don’t settle for a 10% tithe, give 20% or more, just because you want to reflect the Lord’s generosity.

 

Prayer:

¥ Pray that your church will be an exceedingly generous church. Pray that each person, you included, would be granted a greater understanding and experience of what God has done for them in Christ’s work at Calvary. Pray that the love of Christ would so fill our hearts that generosity oozes out.

¥ Pray that the churches across Australia will be exceedingly generous and committed in their giving to God. Pray that we would see churches equipped and able to pay their bills, support their minister(s) and to reach out to the poor and needy because they have funds available. Pray that a spirit of generosity would sweep across the Christians in this land.