Generosity is a mark of the Christian life. It is… there’s no way around it. Generosity should be evident in your life and mine.
When the Lord instituted the Old Covenant tithe He did so with these truths in mind. He is our provider. What we offer should be the first of what we’ve received. We give out of the portion we’ve received. Everyone gets an equal opportunity to be generous.
Paul writes to the church about generosity. He writes, “prepare your generous gift beforehand… as a matter of generosity and not as a grudging obligation.” (Verse 5). Who were they giving to and why? They were collecting a gift for other saints in the church at Jerusalem. Did they personally know these people? No. Did they know what the money would be used for? No. They were just responding to the call of generosity.
We get the same opportunity today. Every day we have the opportunity to be generous not just with our finances, but also with our time, to help those we know and those we don’t for the glory of God. Pray. Ask the Lord how to do that practically. Consider being generous to other saints in the body, to a local or overseas ministry, to the stranger you cross paths with, to the person you see in need… the opportunities really are limitless. Let’s use our worldly finances for the kingdom of God. As Paul writes, “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7
- To Know Jesus. To Live on Mission.