Generosity or Independance
Sooo it's been forever since I posted anything :) Life has changed a ton for us in the last few years and as always God has orchestrated everything. We have landed in a great community that has encouraged our whole family to grow in our faith. I have been challenged often in my personal walk with God to live my life as a reflection of who he is to others. I often fail..... I keep trying..... but I want more than failure. I want the chance to be awesome and make a difference!!!
Lately I've been mulling over the subject of GENEROSITY and the questions "I say that I am a follow of Jesus, how does my life reflect it?" and "Are these two subjects linked somehow?" (If you would like to see some great sermons on the subject go to liferotp.com under the media tab to listen or watch online)
We started a new series at church about generosity about a month ago. During the first weeks sermon I was struggling to see what the personal application would be for me. Being raised a Christian I know the list of things that I'm supposed to do and I try to do them well. That includes being generous. As I listened and prayed I wasn't convicted of sin in my life or challenged in any particular area so I just asked God to show me what he wants from me and left it at that. Two weeks later my youngest daughter and I were sitting in a gas station parking lot with a broke down vehicle. My husband was two hours away and I had no idea what to do. I hate asking other people for anything even a ride home. My husband called a friend who left a birthday party to come and look at the car, he stayed with us for over an hour and then dropped us off at my other daughters work so we could get a ride home. Ouch... my pride was stinging a little at that point. The next morning after church some other friends helped us take it to a shop and even offered to pay for the repairs. I of course declined ( I didn't want to seem like I couldn't take care of my own problems). Ouch again... more pride. The next day we got a quote from the shop, It was going to cost us $600 to make the minimum repairs necessary! We didn't have it! Now what? A few minutes later my husband gets a text from the same friend that came and rescued me from the gas station parking lot. He has a friend (who doesn't even know us) that has volunteered to fix our car for free all we had to do was buy parts! I must say my pride was gone at this point and the love of God and his people overwhelmed me. A week later I'm back on the road. Even as I write this I'm flinching a bit from the fear of what others will think of this story. Will they see the love of God shown through his people or will they see a person living off of the kindness of others.
The lesson God has been teaching me the last few weeks is that how I receive or don't receive generosity speaks as loudly to others as my being generous or not does. Somehow I have been infused with the idea that I must be independent, self sustaining and a lone island. I must never ask for help or show weakness. I must stand alone. I'm supposed to be generous but never accept the generosity of others. Be a joyful giver and a reluctant receiver. Where on earth did this idea come from? If my job is to live my life in a way that shows the world who God is doesn't it go both ways. How I live within my community and treat those around me matters. The things, the money,and my very life are God's and I treat them as such. When he shows me his love through others I don't take it as a my due, or reject it out of pride and independence. I receive it as a good gift given to me because of the love of my Father and provided through the hands of those who are reflecting who he is. Isaiah 32 1-4 says " See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear." In answer to my own questions...yep...living generously and living my life in a way that shows others that I follow Jesus are most definitely connected. I want to be a shelter from the storm and shade in the desert for those I come into contact with and I am so grateful for those who have been that for me. I'm going to be a joyful giver AND a joyful receiver!!!!!!
Lately I've been mulling over the subject of GENEROSITY and the questions "I say that I am a follow of Jesus, how does my life reflect it?" and "Are these two subjects linked somehow?" (If you would like to see some great sermons on the subject go to liferotp.com under the media tab to listen or watch online)
We started a new series at church about generosity about a month ago. During the first weeks sermon I was struggling to see what the personal application would be for me. Being raised a Christian I know the list of things that I'm supposed to do and I try to do them well. That includes being generous. As I listened and prayed I wasn't convicted of sin in my life or challenged in any particular area so I just asked God to show me what he wants from me and left it at that. Two weeks later my youngest daughter and I were sitting in a gas station parking lot with a broke down vehicle. My husband was two hours away and I had no idea what to do. I hate asking other people for anything even a ride home. My husband called a friend who left a birthday party to come and look at the car, he stayed with us for over an hour and then dropped us off at my other daughters work so we could get a ride home. Ouch... my pride was stinging a little at that point. The next morning after church some other friends helped us take it to a shop and even offered to pay for the repairs. I of course declined ( I didn't want to seem like I couldn't take care of my own problems). Ouch again... more pride. The next day we got a quote from the shop, It was going to cost us $600 to make the minimum repairs necessary! We didn't have it! Now what? A few minutes later my husband gets a text from the same friend that came and rescued me from the gas station parking lot. He has a friend (who doesn't even know us) that has volunteered to fix our car for free all we had to do was buy parts! I must say my pride was gone at this point and the love of God and his people overwhelmed me. A week later I'm back on the road. Even as I write this I'm flinching a bit from the fear of what others will think of this story. Will they see the love of God shown through his people or will they see a person living off of the kindness of others.
The lesson God has been teaching me the last few weeks is that how I receive or don't receive generosity speaks as loudly to others as my being generous or not does. Somehow I have been infused with the idea that I must be independent, self sustaining and a lone island. I must never ask for help or show weakness. I must stand alone. I'm supposed to be generous but never accept the generosity of others. Be a joyful giver and a reluctant receiver. Where on earth did this idea come from? If my job is to live my life in a way that shows the world who God is doesn't it go both ways. How I live within my community and treat those around me matters. The things, the money,and my very life are God's and I treat them as such. When he shows me his love through others I don't take it as a my due, or reject it out of pride and independence. I receive it as a good gift given to me because of the love of my Father and provided through the hands of those who are reflecting who he is. Isaiah 32 1-4 says " See, a king will reign in righteousness and rulers will rule with justice. Each one will be like a shelter from the storm, like streams of water in a desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land. Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen. The fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear." In answer to my own questions...yep...living generously and living my life in a way that shows others that I follow Jesus are most definitely connected. I want to be a shelter from the storm and shade in the desert for those I come into contact with and I am so grateful for those who have been that for me. I'm going to be a joyful giver AND a joyful receiver!!!!!!
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