The Extravagant Giver - Jospeh of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-61.) 

Joseph was wealthy and had friends in high places. This made him sneaky about his generosity to Jesus. Maybe we are too hard on him about that kind of generosity? Giving extravagantly is truly remarkable. But what Joseph shows us is that some things are so special, so tender, so important, that it’s better only a few people knew about it. This kind of generosity is more about the recipient than the giver, even if it is an immense gift. What if we did something amazing in secret? What if we didn’t post about it? What if we were extravagantly generous in a sneaky way this Christmas? 

The Caring Giver - The Shunamite Woman (2 Kings 4:8-37.) 

She gave and gave out of deep compassion for what God was doing through Elisha. She was only caring and willing to support without expectation. She was someone we would call good, and something horrible still happened to her. This grief hit her hard. Is that you today? Do you feel like God is maybe false hope? Or blessed you only to take it away later? This story is about a miracle. But it’s also about how God never overlooks what we do in compassion. God will not let our kindness or generous be wasted or forgotten.

The Hospitable Giver - The widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:7-16.) She gives such hospitality to someone even though she is literally preparing her last meal for her and her boy. What’s it like to be generous when you know your gonna die? Is that harder or easier? Was she acting out of emptiness or faith? Is that you today, somewhere in between? This woman reveals a mystery: be generous anyways because you may find that the bread and oil don’t run out.

The Transformed Giver - Zacchaeus (Luke 19:1-19.) Being generous is better understood as a reaction than it is a command to obey. It’s like saying “go like that person.” The way the NT says it is not just to give. That’s easy to obey. The model is to be generous. People like Zacchaeus don’t have trouble being generous because it’s in reaction to how generous God has been to them. Maybe one of the reasons some of us struggle with generosity is not that we don’t want to, but that we seem to have become unaware again of the goodness of God towards us?

The Trusting Giver - The boy with fish and bread (John 6:8-13.) This kid was just there. He’s a kid so no plan, no agenda, just hungry. He ends up being used by God simply because he trusted Jesus with why he had. That’s still the lesson every day for us too: what’s at your disposal? What’s in your hands? Not only can God use anything we have, but all that we commit to God can be something someone else needed. These people were starving. So was the boy. Instead of complaining, instead of hoarding, and instead or running, he trusted Jesus. What can you trust Jesus with today? What’s in your hands that you can be generous with? 

The Consistent Givers - The Macedonian churches all consistently financially supported Paul in his ministry work predominately in Corinth. Steadiness and consistency seems more rare in our modern world. When we find it we tell everyone about it. A good mechanic. A good doctor. A reliable tool. A tasty restaurant. A good tv series. When we find something we can count on, we talk about it. Get ready for God to use you if you're consistent. When it comes to being generous, there’s some stories that will only come from years of persistence and steadiness.  How can you be more steadily reliable in your giving so we can see how God wants to do more, maybe even beyond our lifetime?

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