I never truly understood how it is more blessed to give than to receive until I became a wife and mother. Giving gifts, hugs, encouragement, time, and acts of service fill my heart like nothing else I’ve experienced.
It seems counterintuitive. You’d think the more you give the emptier you’d feel, but the opposite has proven true for me. I’ve discovered giving is a response to love. Because I love my family, I want to give them all I can so they feel loved.
I’m finding this to be true of our heavenly Father as well. The Bible is full of evidence of God’s great generosity toward us. From the beginning, He expressed His generosity through creation. He made the sun, moon, and stars to give us light. He also gave us land, water, and animals to provide resources, shelter, and nourishment. Furthermore, He expressed His generosity by giving us one another for companionship. Not to mention graciously giving each of us unique attributes to share.
In addition to all the aforementioned acts of generosity, God gave His Son Jesus in an unfathomable act of generosity. And Jesus lived as generously as His Father. The New Testament documents Jesus sharing His time, wisdom, power, and provision with every person He encountered.
Of course, in the ultimate act of generosity, He gave His life for us. And after He ascended to Heaven, He also gave us His Holy Spirit Who continues to guide and convict us on a daily basis.
Friend, all we are and all we have is from above and we lack nothing (Psalm 23). What a generous God we serve!
Being beneficiaries of such incredible generosity causes us to be generous as well. This creates a beautiful cycle of generosity that starts with God and elicits our participation. He gives to us so we can give to others and they can experience His generosity too.
When we are in Christ, generosity is meant to be a natural part of who we are. God created us in His image, which means we have His generous heart within us. This attribute is woven into our DNA.
Since we’ve freely received, let’s freely give (Matthew 10:8). God’s great giving is in response to His great love. Now, it’s our turn to be generous in response.
Prayer Prompt
Lord, thank You for Your generosity towards me. Help me realize all You have given me and help me share Your generosity with others. Teach me to be a cheerful giver, willingly giving because of my love for You, and may my generosity result in You alone being praised. In Your name I pray. Amen.
Reflection Question
Are you a cheerful giver? Think about how generous God has been to you and how you can reflect His generosity to those around you. How can you give more generously of your time, talents, and treasures?
Originally published for (Be)Long by Stephanie Englehart. Read more from her at www.stephaniemenglehart.com
