“God loved so much . . . that He gave.” This sums up the generous heart of God, and is an example for us, His children. In fact, we are most like Him when we are giving generously and even sacrificially.

Giving Beyond their Means

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-3, Paul commends the Macedonian believers: “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” These Christ-followers did not wait until they were financially comfortable or even stable, and they gave “beyond their ability.”

Do Good and Share

What has God given you to share? Are His blessings the type you can pass on? The Bible says, “Do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16). Timothy reminds Christians to "use their money to do good, [to] be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others" (I Timothy 6:18).

Generously sharing with others is one way to “store up treasures in Heaven” (Matthew 6:20), and keeps greed and selfishness from growing in our hearts.

Let’s pray for the day when Jesus’ followers are known more for their generosity and kindness than for what they are against.

Prayer, Care, and Share Jesus

“Living Generously”
John 3:16

We serve an indescribably generous God! This characteristic of God is expressed so well in John 3:16 in that God gave His Son so that all who believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life.

We challenge you this week to follow Jesus by living a life of generous giving.

Being generous is an attitude of being a blessing to others in whatever way you can. You may have skills, gifts, money, time, connections or physical resources, such as a place of accommodation. It is not necessarily about meeting needs, but about opening the way, making things easy - being a blessing!

As the Prayer, Care and Share guide has unfolded over the past weeks, you’ve learned about asking God's blessing to be on all people you meet daily, including places you go and tasks you do. You’ve also learned about Jesus' command to love and pray for your enemies, and to be ambassadors of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:20). You also saw the importance of showing your appreciation to people around you in appropriate ways.

Where do you stand? Are you practicing generosity? Do you believe you can grow in the area of giving? Generosity is about giving freely without expecting anything in return.