Living Gratefully is Living Generously

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"Do all the good you can, 

 by all the means you can,

in all the ways you can,

in all the places you can,

at all the times you can,

to all the people you can,

as long as ever you can.

~ John Wesley, theologian

💛 A pastor standing in line at a convenience store noticed a man with his wife and son in line in front of him that were unable to pay for their items.  The pastor quietly said to the man, "You don't need to turn around but please accept this money."  The man did, without ever knowing the giver.  

💛 Nine years later this pastor was invited to speak as a guest at a church, where afterwards a man came up to him and shared that several years ago he, his wife and son were destitute and were living in their car after losing everything.  They made a suicide pact, to include their child, but first wanted to buy him some food at a convenience store.  When a stranger offered to pay for their food and not be looked at, he had also told them that Jesus loved them.  They had driven to the designated site to end their lives, wept for hours, and left.  As they drove they passed a church with a sign saying "Jesus loves you", that they decided to attend and gave their life to Christ. They recognized the pastor's distinct South African dialect, and knew immediately this pastor was the generous man who didn't want to receive any credit.

 This testimony teaches us so many things and is so refreshing.  Someone is just going about their day and notices an opportunity to bless someone.  It doesn't say he was poor or rich, we don't know if he was in a hurry or in a good mood.  In fact, after reading it I'm inclined to think he woke up that morning and out of habit said, "Lord could You please show me who I'm supposed to see today with Your eyes."  

With constant anxieties mounting over money, the cost of living, threats of financial insecurities, and the constant pursuit of our consuming lifestyles, generosity is sometimes a ghost habit- something we will do when ... happens, when we have enough ..., when we're not so busy raising our family/working/paying off our house etc. 

💛 Generosity is not a future event; it's a frame of mind and a condition of the heart.  The

Bible speaks frankly about it-

"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." 

Prov 11:25

💛 We aren't to do it begrudgingly, but out of gratitude:

"God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Cor 9:7

And not to be seen by others; Jesus told us:

"Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen 

by them.  If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 

So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the

hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by 

others.  Truly I tell you they have received their reward in full.  But 

when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your

right hand is doing so that your giving may be in secret.  Then your

Father, who sees what is done in secret will reward you." Matt 6:1-4

💛 Why do we give?  Because nothing is ours anyway - we are just managers of what we've been given.  We give back because our Father has given us so much- His One and only Son, who willingly gave His life for us on the cross, cancelling all of our sin debt, so we could have the generous gift of eternal life in heaven, instead of the death we all deserve.  

💛 A grateful heart leads to generous way of living.

Dear Heavenly Father, we can't even fathom the Love behind Your gift of Your Son.  It breathes life into our bones every minute, and we want to constantly be reminded of that, so we can turn it into generously giving of ourselves to others, so they see Your gift too.  Help our minds to dwell on this today.  Amen.