We Can Afford to Be Generous...

If we find ourselves withholding God’s love from people who need it, failing to minister to them as we should, I believe it is much like deliberately turning our backs on someone about to step into traffic at a crosswalk because they failed to see the sign that reads WAIT!  We might hesitate because we fear being accused of something bizarre.  Or imagine a nurse or doctor walking away from someone who needs CPR simply because they are too busy or have a pressing dinner engagement.  Would we consider that acceptable?

I ask myself, “Am I becoming so occupied with the cares of life that I fail to take a moment to share the good news that God loves the unlovable?  Do I hesitate because someone smells unpleasant or appears unkempt?”  If we see a house engulfed in flames but refuse to call 911 because we fear being charged for emergency services, would that not be wrong?

These are just a few examples of the importance of giving of ourselves when opportunities arise to help others, even when doing so costs us something.

What is a soul worth, anyway?

All of heaven rejoices when a sinner turns to Jesus and is born again.  Think about this: Even if you or I had been the only person who had ever sinned, Jesus would still have gone to the cross to make our salvation possible.  That is how deeply He loves us.  That is how precious one soul is to God.  And that is how precious you are to Him.

If our efforts to share Christ could help even one person find the way to heaven rather than remain on the road to destruction, would those efforts not be worth it?

Sometimes, we need to shake ourselves awake from the humdrum, lethargic state that can overtake us.  When we find ourselves growing weary in spirit, we need to refocus and look around us.  Many people are groping for hope in the midst of seemingly hopeless circumstances.

Every once in a while, I hear the phrase “Proof of Life” on television.  I believe that when we look beyond our own safe havens and make ourselves available for God to use, things can happen.  Lives can be saved!

We will begin to recognize the signs of spiritual death taking hold through drug abuse, alcoholism, and the many other vices that destroy lives.  These things rob people of the joy and purpose that God intends for them, leaving them vulnerable to the one who goes about like a roaring lion. 

1 Peter 5:8 tells us: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

If we need to shake ourselves awake so that we can see more clearly those who are hurting and minister to those who need spiritual CPR, then we need to do so.

If we need to extend a helping hand or offer an arm of support to someone in danger of being pushed into calamity and spiritual destruction by Satan, then we need to do so.

If we need to grab the water hose of salvation, so to speak, and help extinguish the flames of deception arising from spiritual wickedness in the shadows of darkness, then we need to do so.

We must be willing instruments in God’s hands, speaking words of encouragement and extending His hands to others by sharing spiritual food with hungry souls.  We must tell them that Jesus died for their sins and that forgiveness and new life are available through Him.

We have so much love within us that we can afford to be generous with it.  God’s love is without end—boundless, infinite, and merciful.  Whoever comes to Him in repentance, He will not cast aside.  Instead, He welcomes those who turn to Him into His family, adopting them as His sons and daughters.  He loves them with an everlasting Father’s love.

God is generous with His blessings and does not withhold good things from His children.  Matthew 7:11 reminds us: “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask Him.”

If earthly fathers know how to give good gifts to their children, how much greater is the love of our heavenly Father!

God has been generous with us, extending His love and grace and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.  Should we not be willing to extend that same love and grace to others?

We can afford to be generous—not because we have an endless supply of our own goodness, but because the love God has poured into our hearts is more than enough to share.

Written by,

Papa Boyd