Scripture
11Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God. 12So two good things will result from this ministry of giving—the needs of the believers in Jerusalem will be met, and they will joyfully express their thanks to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11-12
Observation
Paul was using the agrarian example of seed being sown to show the church in Corinth how they were cutting themselves short when they chose to shortchange God in their giving. The genesis of joy in every season is generosity. Whether they have much or plenty, if they kept giving, joy would keep blooming, not just in their own lives, but in the lives of those they were planting into. There’s a stark contrast between a barren wasteland and a harvest field and the determining factor for what our lives will look like is generosity.
Application
I was hiking the Elfin Forrest trail and saw the beautiful bloom of the California blue sage. They only bloom for a few weeks a year, but when they do they bring the hillsides alive in color. I could already see the color fading and knew that it would only be a matter of a week or two before the beauty would disappear and I’d have to wait another year. As I hiked the Lord spoke clearly to my soul, “you can bloom year round when you stay connected to Me.” I was blown away by this thought and my heart was filled joy that even in dry or winter seasons I can still see and show His beauty. Then, today’s reading brought clarity to this word from the Lord. The genesis of perpetual joy is persistent generosity. It makes sense. It takes cents. Where my treasure is there my heart is also. I am the closest to my divine design when I am giving what I’ve got rather then holding tightly as if it belongs to me. It all belongs to God. Whenever I have followed His lead and given when it hurts I feel my roots go deeper into His heart for people and I receive joy. This is why Jesus said it’s better to give than to receive. The call to give is not an invitation to a financial transaction but a spiritual transformation that happens every time I serve Him and others with the resources He’s entrusted to me.
Prayer
My time, talent, and treasure all belong to You! I want to live in such a way that needs are met through what You’ve given me and that You are getting all the glory. What a joy to not need to be needed but to instead become a resource, a sign, a burst of color in someones life pointing them to the God who made them! Forgive me for living out of my scarcity rather than Your generosity. You have lavished Your love upon me not be held back but to shared freely! Your generous, evergreen love is the genesis, the substance, the sustenance of my joy no matter how hard life may be!
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