Practical Generosity

An effective lifestyle of giving can be summed up in one sentence. Practical generosity.

I’ve never really been good at crafts or art – though I do appreciate good stuff when I see it. I am pretty good at tying knots and following directions, so when macramé became the ‘craze’ while Joyce and I were in college, she convinced me to give it a try. My creations didn’t turn out half bad, though most of the patterns were for hanging potted plants. Joyce’s mom was even impressed with my work, encouraging me with her generous praise. As Christmas approached I decided to make her something special from me, even though I wasn’t ‘officially’ part of the family yet. I found a rather unique pattern for a  hanging glass table that had an impressive, intricate knot at the top before it spread out in twisted knots and beads to hold the table. Since I only had spare time to dedicate to the project, and Joyce was usually the one I spent my spare time with, I did most of the work right in front of her mother when we spent evenings at their house outside of the college. Keeping the project  ‘secret ‘ wasn’t hard, because she thought I was making it for my mother! When she opened that gift at Christmas I remember it as one of the most special times of giving in my life. As tears flowed, it was just good to have made her happy and to have given into which I had invested in heavily.

All of us have these special moments that we can remember when we gave something that truly touched the heart of another person. It is a shame that these events don’t happen more often in our lives.  Yet God’s kingdom values generosity not just occasionally, but as a continuous daily lifestyle. The goal of the Holy Spirit (Who dwells in us) is to urge us to a life of giving that invests heavily in the lives of others, in order to touch their hearts with the truth and reality of God’s presence and His gospel. Just as “God so loved the world that He gave…” so we, His people, are created for good works (Ephesians 2:10) that require the giving of our lives in service and ministry through acts of genuine love.

To see God become real to another person, and change their lives, makes the effort all worthwhile.