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2 Corinthians 9.10-11 NLT

'For God is the one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you. Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous.'

I am sure that we can all think of moments when we have been really generous, and times when other people have been generous to us. They are precious moments but that’s just it. They are moments which come and go. What the apostle Paul is talking about here is very different. He is talking about generosity as a way of life, not an occasional and unusual outburst. And he says that God makes it possible for us to always be generous.

Generosity has everything to do with our hearts, and little to do with the quantity of what we give. The widow, who Jesus observed giving a tiny gift into the Temple collection box, was supremely generous. Her two little copper coins were just a tiny fraction of what the rich people gave, but she was incredibly generous because it was everything she had. In contrast, the rich people just gave to God out of their surplus. Paul’s point is clear. Whether we have got a lot of money or a little, we can always be generous, and God will always make it possible.

But generosity extends well beyond our money. God looks to us to be generous with everything that he has give us – our home, our car, our bicycle, our talents, our time, our love, our compassion; everything. He wants us to be ready to be generous continually because, in that way, we will be reflecting his unfailing generosity to us.

Question: In what ways are you able to be generous today?

Prayer: Lord God, I thank you for your amazing generosity to me throughout my life. Forgive me for those times when I have been stingy and unwilling to be generous to others. In the power of your Spirit, help me to live a life of generosity. Amen