What is it that gives you joy? I mean, what do you really like to do?
I love to cook, bake, be in the kitchen and I love to share what I make with others. It’s what I do. So as a byproduct, I love to have people in our home – not really entertaining, but just making people feel welcome and comfortable.
I also love sharing the Word with you. There are a few mornings I would like to sleep in a bit but those are very few and far between.
This morning Paul is talking to the Christians in Corinth about what they love to do. Give.
” Each one of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. You should not give if it makes you unhappy or if you feel forced to give. God loves those who are happy to give. 8 And God can give you more blessings than you need, and you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. 9 As the Scriptures say,
“He gives generously to the poor; his goodness will continue forever.”
10 God is the one who gives seed to those who plant, and he gives bread for food. And God will give you spiritual seed and make that seed grow. He will produce a great harvest from your goodness. 11 God will make you rich in every way so that you can always give freely. And your giving through us will make people give thanks to God…They will praise God because you freely share with them and with all people. 14 And when they pray, they will wish they could be with you. They will feel this way because of the great grace that God gave you. 15 Thanks be to God for his gift that is too wonderful to describe.” II Corinthians 9:7-15 ERV
Giving should be done because we love to do it not because someone has made we feel guilty or coerced us into it. When we give from what we have we bless others and bring glory to God.
Our gift is a seed that brings a harvest and provides more for future giving. Don’t begrudge the size of the gift. To someone who has nothing, a gift of a $1 is great; to someone with little, an extra $10 seems like a fortune.
I remember a time when we had $2.38 in our checking account and the bank we used charged a $2 monthly service fee. After church another couple asked us to go to lunch. We started to hesitate and they quickly said “our treat”. What a blessing! It meant we ate that day.
I remember another time we were given a freezer full of ground beef by a local dairyman. We had more than our freezer could hold so I called a few people to see if they would like some beef. I wanted to share our blessing.
I called one friend and she was nearly in tears. I put some meat in the car and headed to her place. She had been praying for meat for dinner, so we were both blessed by a gift and blessed by giving.
Let the Lord show you what you have to give and then if He prompts you, give it from a cheerful heart.
God has given us SO much it’s a joy to give to others on His behalf!!
