WEEK THREE: HEAVEN’S GENEROSITY

“Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it.”    1 Peter 4:8-10 (MSG)

Mark and Huldah Buntain were longtime Assemblies of God missionaries in the country of India. Perhaps best known for founding a prominent hospital and feeding program in Calcutta, India, they became iconic symbols of the melding of gospel proclamation with works of compassion. Mark was once asked how they kept from getting overwhelmed by all the need around them. His response was profound. “We stay focused on what we can do, not what we can’t. We were never asked to play God, that’s his job. We can’t do everything, but that can’t be an excuse for doing nothing.”

No one has been more generous to us than God. He supplies our needs. He offers us mercy and grace that none of us deserve. He is compassionate toward us, and because of that great compassion he shows toward us, how can we do anything less when it comes to how we treat other people? Now I understand that we all live in a difficult financial time. Things cost more and inflation is rampant, but even in the middle of all of that, we should be the first to reflect and demonstrate God’s generosity. But this is about more than just finances.

That passage of scripture from 1 Peter 4:10 says it this way in the New Living Translation: “God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.” In other words, God has given every one of us something to help people. It is now our responsibility to take whatever that is and use it. If it’s money, share it. If it’s time, give it. If it is a talent or ability, generously offer to help. Because that single act of compassion may be exactly what that other person needs to find their way to Jesus, and that is why the Church exists in the first place. Take a moment and allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you personally. How do you need to respond to this, and what personal commitment do you need to make?