As we look through Scripture, we can easily find reference to God’s calling for us to be generous. In fact, if you think about it, the Bible is really one large story of God’s generosity to His people.
God calls us to be generous people because he has given us so much. Everything we have is because of him. But some of us live with a scarcity mindset and try to hold onto everything he has given us for fear that we will not have enough. When we do this, we are building our kingdom rather than his.
Living a generous life by opening our hands and being obedient to God means giving our time, talents, and treasures that he has gifted us with back to his Kingdom. The amazing thing is that when we give in the manner that God has called us to, our gifts are multiplied for his glory.
This is illustrated beautifully in John 6. In a crowd of thousands of people, a boy came forward with the ultimate sacrifice of generosity. He handed two fish and five loaves of bread over to Jesus. I am humbled by the faithfulness and sacrifice of this little boy. That little boy is the picture of sacrificial generosity.
The even more incredible lesson in this chapter is what Jesus did next. He took the two fish and five loaves and he fed the masses. The fish and bread in the boy’s hands were just that, two small fish and five typical loaves of bread. But when the boy was obedient and handed the small amount of food over to Jesus, the gifts multiplied to feed thousands of hungry people. When we hand over our possessions to God, he can do so much more with them than we ever could on our own. He changes the currency and changes the value of our belongings to build his Kingdom.
Whether you have a lot or a little, God wants to bring you into his bigger purposes through your generosity.
Encourage the moms in your group to live an open-handed life. The truth is that we are the owner of nothing but the manager of everything. Be known not for what you keep but for what you give away. You will be blown away by what God can do with your time, talents and treasures if you hand them over to him in delight, trusting that your generosity leads to a life of abundance and Kingdom impact.
Questions:
- Think of the most recent act of generosity you have encountered. How did it impact you? How did it impact the person who gave so generously?
- What do you think is holding you back from living a life of obedient generosity?
- Consider praying this prayer: “Lord, what do you want me to do today with all you’ve trusted me with to honor you, and to advance your Kingdom?”
Jess Bowler (mops.org/donate)