Week 2 | Day 4 | Contagious Generosity

Command:

Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Luke 6:30 (NIV)

Read:

Give freely and spontaneously. Don’t have a stingy heart. The way you handle matters like this triggers God, your God’s blessing in everything you do, all your work and ventures. There are always going to be poor and needy people among you. So I command you: Always be generous, open purse and hands, give to your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors. Deuteronomy 15:10-11 (MSG)

Reflect:

Melissa and Ronnie invited me to meet them downtown to serve the homeless. I brought along a friend and brought some packaged food items to contribute. I had no idea what to expect nor how my life would be forever changed by that first of many mornings with Melissa and Ronnie.

They had invited a few friends who invited a few friends. We all brought items that included water, soda, snacks, new socks and underwear, toiletries, gently used shoes and clothes. We loaded everything on a borrowed (with permission) flatbed cart, prayed together and began to walk.

Ronnie knew the neighborhood well. The only agenda was to serve.

If someone asked for a pair of shoes, Ronnie would offer them two. There were no qualifications to receive and no limits to give. Pretty quickly, Ronnie’s generosity spread throughout the group. Even when we saw a woman selling our shoes around the corner, Ronnie said “That’s Okay.” We moved past her and continued to give generously with open hands.

What I learned is that generosity and open hands are not only contagious but God uses generosity to fill my heart.

React:

How can you live generously with open hands? Who are your neighbors in trouble, your poor and hurting neighbors that you can serve?

Pray:

Thank you Jesus for showing me your upside-down way of generosity. It is in giving that we receive. Please open my eyes to neighbors in need and show me ways that I can generously give my time, treasure and talents.