Generosity: Shining like the Sun
Transcript:
Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.
God is a god of abundance, not of scarcity—and this abundance is on display in all that He has made. God is not a miserable miser, but a glad Giver of all good things. He is happy and blessed (Ephesians 1:3; Romans 1:25) and overflowing with joy, precisely because He has an infinite capacity for generosity. Now, this is no mere theory. Such core beliefs about God’s basic nature and posture towards you, deeply affect the posture we take towards generosity in our own lives.
Not surprising then that generous people are joyful people, but greedy people are grumpy. Such greedy and grumpy people believe God is stingy toward them or unable to “make all grace abound” to them (2 Corinthians 9:8). They believe God owes them something. On the contrary, generous people realize everything is a gift of His grace—all of life! That there’s nothing we have we’ve not first received. So, they are grateful for God’s gifts and are glad to pass them on to others.
How your heart falls on this matter will affect the way you steward the resources God’s given: your time, your treasure and your talents. Seeing God’s generosity will make you generous. However, believing God is holding back—that He’s grumpy and greedy—will make you the same.
So, how do you lean into this joy of generosity? Well, start doing it! The more you give the more you will develop a capacity for joy. Giving makes you glad! The great London preacher Charles Spurgeon suggested the reason the sun shines so brightly is that it is always giving itself away. This is why God is the happiest of all, because He’s the giver of all good things.
Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.
“Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith…”
~Galatians 6:6-10 (ESV)