2 Corinthians 8.9 NLT




'You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.'
The Christian life is, before anything else, characterised by giving. Because that’s how Jesus lived. As we follow in his footsteps, our lives need to be shaped by giving generously. His generosity was so complete that he gave everything and became totally poor in order to make other people rich. This is a huge challenge to all of us in a society that is deeply acquisitive. The assumption is that life is found in acquiring more and more, but Jesus turns that thinking completely on its head.
There is an old proverb which says, “He who takes but never gives, may last for years but never lives.” That’s a scary thought and should redouble our determination to work out how we should go about our giving. I believe that we need to find a deeper understanding of where our money and resources come from. When we realise that they have all come from God’s hands, it becomes obvious that our relationship with our money is that of a steward. I took a funeral service yesterday where we were reminded that we brought nothing into this world, and we will take nothing out. Our role is to be God’s steward of the resources that we have been given. We need to look after them in a way that will please him.


In the 15th Century, Thomas à Kempis wrote The Imitation of Christ. It has been in print ever since and reminds us of the fundamental responsibility that we all have to use the life of Christ as a pattern for our own lives. No-one has been more fully alive than Jesus, and as we learn how to give generously we will discover more and more of what it means to be truly alive.




Question: Jesus is the ultimate example of generous giving, but can you think of someone in whose life you have seen enormous generosity? What have you learnt from them?
Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, help us to walk in your footsteps today and to become increasingly generous to others. Amen

Released on 17 Jun 2022