Generosity is not just about making people think we are good, nice and kind, it is about helping people see that God is good, compassionate and responsive to their cries.
Here are three thoughts from Sunday's message:
1. Generosity begins with a grateful heart. Take a moment and remind yourself of how others have been generous toward you. When is the last time you expressed thanks for such gifts? I am not a self-made man and we are not a self-made church. We each have been blessed by the tremendous generosity of others. If I am driving the Chevy S10 pickup truck of generosity, God is driving a Kenworth 18 wheeler.
2. Generosity is a statement of faith and trust. You never grow out of living by faith. As you continue to grow, God will continue to challenge you in more ways than you think. With faith comes trust, which work together like hand and glove. Corrie Ten Boom said, “Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.”
3. We are created to give, but tempted to keep. As we are created in God’s image, there is a sense of fulfillment when we are generous; however, the voices of fear and selfishness speak against it. We must combat these voices with trust in God and the Scriptures. Proverbs 11:24-25, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”
When all is “said and done,” let there be more “done than said.”
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