So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV

On this precious, Holy weekend my thoughts turn to Christ and His sacrifice for us and if there is anything that can be done to honor Him. Because of His generous sacrifice, we as Christian believers have the privilege of being led by the Holy Spirit. Thusly, since we are led by the Spirit, we all have been gifted with certain characteristics according to the Spirit. They are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self control. You may wonder how I get generosity out of the list, but I would classify generosity as covering both kindness and goodness.

There are certain natural “laws” at work, think of it like the law of gravity. What goes up must come down, well in God’s economy what you reap is what you sow. If we talk about this in light of Spiritual gifting each of these gifts are given to you as it would be a seed that you plant in your garden. It is up to you to plant, water, fertilize this seed to help to come to full maturity. If you follow this logic, if you wanted to be blessed then you need to be a blessing.

Being generous is certainly not a requirement for salvation. Jesus took care of that for you on the cross. God is not going to love you more because you gave ten more dollars than someone else to the church or another charity. It ends up being about the condition of your heart and whether or not you are available to be the hands and feet of Jesus. Ultimately, if you want God’s best in your life you need to be actively looking to help others live their best life. Can God trust you to put his work ahead of your own ambitions?

Trust God and do good. Years ago, I felt as though I wasn’t in Gods will, and I wasn’t hearing from Him what His will was for me. I got a hold of Psalm 37:3 and decided that if I wasn’t going to have ultimate direction that I would just trust Him and go about doing good for others. It has been so freeing and now I feel that I understand what true love, joy and peace are.

The Bible talks a lot about money. God knows that you need money, God knows that you need food and clothes and other things that may make this life a little easier until we are called home. All God really is asking is for you to trust the He is actively working on your behalf. Plant a seed of generosity and see how it grows and matures in your life. Try it out. Even if you don’t become a millionaire, I think you will be a better person for it. I don’t think there is a better feeling than putting a smile on someone else’s face. Once again, try it out. Test if I am telling the truth, let me know how it works out.

God doesn’t play favorites. What He has done for me He will do for you. Does He love me more than you because I love to give? No, but I have given Him opportunity to work in my life and the lives of others by making myself available for His work. Would you trust Him and just plant a seed? I know that someone else will be better off for it, and eventually you will too.