The joy of giving
Give, and gifts will be given to you: a good measure, packed together, shaken down and overflowing, will be poured into your lap. - Luke 6:38
For years I’d been giving shamefully little into the offering bag. I’m awfully thrifty when I can’t see where my money goes. I always told myself, “hey, you can buy plenty of stuffs with that amount of money..don’t kid yourself, man!” and then went on to list those “stuffs” in mind and finally pulled out the smallest note that I can find! And for some reason, I've never got myself to understand the meaning behind Luke 6:38.
Until a year ago, there was this sermon about the joy of giving. It’s about putting God first in our life, joyfully give and serve others, and trust God to do His part. I finally managed to grasp the true meaning of giving. I started giving “ridiculously”. Without any hesitation or fear, I gave joyfully and willingly in money, time, services and helps to others. Up to today, I have been blessed far more than what I’ve ever expected. Most of the time, it caught me by surprise how creative He can be when comes to giving back to us!
We just need to acknowledge God owns everything; that all our possessions are ultimately His gift to us. Certainly, God doesn't need our offering. God wants us, the giver. He wants us to respond to His gifts to us. He wants to free us from life's possessions that taking hold of us. And He wants us to trust Him and understand how much He really does care. If we are sensitive to what is happening around us, we will realize that there are people who desperately need our generosity - the unloved, the underprivileged, the overworked, the exhausted, the lonely. He wants us to give ourselves in our entirety to people, to needs, and to opportunities; cheerfully, gladly, and joyfully!
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. - 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
