Take Hold by Letting Go...

I would like to carry over from yesterday's Victory Call regarding the heart of generosity.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich."
2 Corinthians 8:9

Reflect upon the gospel in this verse: that Jesus left heaven and all the glories of eternity past and was born in a stall and His newborn body laid in a manger full of straw. Through His sinless, perfect life and sacrifice we are offered the free gift of eternal life. We become rich through His poverty. What a picture of generosity!

"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life." 1 Timothy 6:17-19

God is the provider of everything you and I enjoy. It seems rather foolish to be stingy with that which isn't ours to begin with.

You know when I find it easy to be generous? Silly as it sounds it's when I somehow profit from that generosity. It is easy to be generous, for example, with my children and grandchildren because I get to enjoy their surprise and delight. I find it more difficult to send a check to a foreign missions project because I don't see the direct impact of my giving. So, bottom line, I'm self-serving in my generosity (or seeming generosity).

Timothy speaks not primarily of financial generosity, but "rich in good works" and "to be generous and ready to share." In one sense, it can be easier to be generous with our finances than generous with ourselves. Are we generous only when it serves us somehow? Are we generous in our service? Are we generous in sharing?

I can't close today's Victory Call without commenting on vs. 19 of 1 Timothy 6, "that they may take hold of that which is truly life." We are far too easily duped into thinking (aloud or silently) that "she who has the most toys ($$ or things) in the end wins." We might not be so foolish as to actually admit that, but are we living as if we believe that? Holding fast to what is "ours"?

I think Timothy's point is that it is not in holding onto our money, time, and gifts that gives us true life but rather in the generous giving of all those things that we will take hold of that which is truly life.

Diane