Generosity.
We've spent five weeks looking at this amazing word from all kinds of angles. Time. Talent. Treasure. Touch. Truth. We know that God both loves generosity and is generous himself. We even made t-shirts to remind us of all these things. But what does it look like in real life -- you know -- outside of church?
An FBCGer who happens also to be a friend emailed me two weeks ago with this story. He was standing in line at a Starbucks somewhere in Chicago waiting to get his mocha-java-late-half-caf whatever when a homeless man entered the store. The man began asking customers if they could help him out with some food. My friend overheard as the man was turned down a handful of times. When the man got to my friend and made his request, my friend responded, "Absolutely, what do you want?" When they got to the front of the line he bought the man a piece of crumb cake (he didn't like any of their sandwiches!) and some coffee. When the homeless man had finished his cake my friend gave him a couple more dollars for dinner -- at which time the man said in a voice loud enough for the whole place to hear, "You're a believer aren't you? Are you a Christian?" My friend simply said, "Well, yes I am sir," as a whole line of people looked on.
Here's a question that comes to mind: Which had greater eternal impact -- a piece of crumb cake for a hungry man or a whole store full of people connecting generosity with a follower of Christ? Here's another one: There were two lines in that Starbucks -- a long one where everyone said "no," and a short one where one person said "yes," -- which line would you be found in?
Generosity is freedom from smallness of heart --and generosity lies at the heart of everything good God wants to do in us and in his kingdom!
Pastor Brian Coffey
Posts
