I have noticed over the past few weeks how the theme of generosity has been cropping up for us as a family. We have been taking part in a 40 Acts of generosity challenge so maybe that’s part of it, but we have also been hearing stories of extraordinary, generous living.
So, the theme of generosity has been mulling about in my mind. I have noticed that everyday opportunities to be generous are all around us, are we making the most of them? (Even if it can seem a bit weird!)
Whether it’s being generous with your speech, your time or your money, what you invest has ongoing effects.
I was even considering the other day - what would the journey of a £1 coin look like from it’s manufacture? How many pairs of hands has it passed through? How many banks? tills? How many pavements has it rested on? How many purses?
A single £1 coin has a story to tell. That coin has been an important sum to some, an investment for others, a gift for a few and a commodity to many. That £1 has meant much to many. Yet, the value of the coin isn’t so much it’s monetary value, but the worth of it is measured by it’s usage; you can save it, spend it, lose it, invest it, donate it. A single coin has a multiple of options open to it. So, my question to you is - what are you doing with the coins in your hands? Maybe you don’t have any coins, but you do have some form of treasure whatever it may be; money, skills, time, resources. These things are your treasure that you can choose to put to use how you want to. There are a multitude of choices. What are you going to do with what you have in your hands? What is the next stage of the journey of your treasure? You have responsibility for what you have got whilst you have got it, so how are you going tout these things to work?
I have a simple story to tell you along these lines this week, as our treasure was rhubarb!
The other day we discovered that there’s rhubarb growing in our newly-acquired-overgrown allotment, it was a hidden treasure as it’s take us 5 moths to find it! So my daughter and I picked some - 9 sticks in total, some for us and some for the neighbours.
As we were walking home with our 9 stalks of rhubarb, we saw a dog-walker who commented on our bundle, we asked if he wanted any- and he walked away with 3 stalks.
When we got home, I chopped off the leaves, cut up 3 sticks and stewed it (rhubarb crumble here we come!). It wasn’t until later when my daughter came into the kitchen that she asked about how much rhubarb we had. So, I reminded her; we picked 9, gave 3 to the dog-walker, we stewed 3…. She then told me that wasn’t right. So, I explained again. Again she told me that wasn’t right - it didn’t add up. So I asked her why. She told me that 9-3-3 is (not surprisingly) 3. Yet we had 5 stalks left!
This made me smile, so I said that clearly God has been at it again! He multiplied the fish and loaves to feed the 5,000 and now he’s multiplied the rhubarb to feed the neighbours!
I have no idea why God would do this, but it was a beautiful little miracle that shows the reality of God to us and our kids. It shows the lavish generosity of God. Why would He do that? I don’t know - maybe it was just because He wanted to!
How can we not be generous when we have a God that does things like this?! He makes 9-3-3 equal to 5!
It also struck me how when we put our mind to give away what we have got, God has a habit of multiplying your capability to continue to give. As a family we have cut back many times, wages have reduced, time has been precious, things have gone wrong, but God has always, always taken care of us. We have had times when it doesn’t make sense for us to have money in the account, yet we have.
It seems God may be challenging us again to step up into a new level of generosity. However He does it, whatever He asks us to do, i pray that we will have the confidence to do it because He can increase whatever we give. However scary His ask, I want to say yes because I know He will never let us down. He will press down and increase the little treasure we have. Just like rhubarb and the £1 coin - who knows the journey our treasure is going on? How many lives will be effected? How many hands will what we once had pass into?
Be ready to be inspired to be generous.
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