Live to Give
Do you remember more details about the gifts you have received or the gifts you have given?
Jesus is quoted in Acts 20:35 as saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Frankly, I am not sure we believe this anymore, but ask yourself, does Jesus lie? Please answer that question correctly.
Jesus promised a blessing to those who give. What does it mean to be blessed? Most people miss this because they think “blessed” means happy. Be glad that that’s not what the word means because “happy” comes from the root word “hap,” which means random, chance, or accident. So we have words like “haphazard" or “happenstance" to communicate randomness. If you are happy right now, it is just a random accident. The word “bless" comes from the Greek word “makários” and the root word “mak,” which means to extend or enlarge. “Blessed" means to come under and live under the extended approval of God. Therefore, through acts of generosity, we are walking under the umbrella of God’s approval.
You see, generosity reflects the very nature of God. God gave us a world, He gave us life, He gave us moral law, He gave us a Savior, He gave us forgiveness, He gave us Scripture, He gave us the church, and He will give us eternal life. We serve a generous God who is looking for generous people.
What does God-like generosity look like? In the most generous act of all time recorded in the most generous verse in all the Bible, Jesus said in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…” In twelve words, we get the characteristics of God-like generosity.
First and foremost, God-like generosity is motivated by sacrificial love, as evidenced by the phrase “For God so loved." God gives because God loves. God’s generosity has nothing to do with what we deserve, but everything to do with God’s sacrificial love. Second, God-like generosity is magnified by value, “only Son.” We understand the value of something based on its rarity or uniqueness. Jesus was the one and only Son of God. Our value system judges generosity on the amount, but God’s value system judges generosity on the cost. Lastly, God-like generosity is manifested by intimacy, “Son.” You see, God sent a Son, not just a Savior. I am ready to save someone, but I have yet to discover a person whom I would sacrifice my own son for.
Keeping those three thoughts in mind, would others describe you as generous? Get under the umbrella of God’s approval and show the world that you have a very generous God.
