There’s a secret treasure found in the pages of scripture when it comes to generosity. You must eagerly search for it or you may miss it. When you unearth it and embrace it, you can begin to crochet it into the fibers of your being. It will transform you, like the word of God always does. This precious, finer-than-gold fortune is found in Matthew 10:8, and it says this:
“Freely you have received; freely give.”
You see, friend, generosity is a three-fold cord. First and foremost, generosity is about receiving. It seems like an oxymoron to say that generosity, or giving, begins with receiving, but it is unquestionably the truth.
Generosity begins with a willingness to receive and the knowledge that everything we have comes from the hand of an all-too-generous God.
The Bible says plainly, what we receive we can freely give to others. If we never learn to receive, we are missing a colossal piece of the puzzle.
Can you remember being a child on Christmas morning? I don’t know about you, but there was always one special gift I was eagerly awaiting to unwrap. I’m sure you experienced the same. It was that one thing you had been asking—no, begging—your parents to get you for months.
On Christmas morning you woke up at 3 a.m. with excitement breakdancing through your innards. Waiting until dawn to open up presents seemed unthinkable, unimaginable, but somehow you managed to restrain yourself long enough to do it.
With anticipation about to burst out of every buckle and seam, you finally reach the moment you had been waiting for. The time had come, the moment was there. When you opened the
gift, you realized the gift was even greater than you expected. Instead of just a Cabbage Patch Doll, you got the doll and an entire wardrobe of clothes to go with it! Your heart was so delighted it could’ve exploded!
You may or may not have memories like this. If not, friend, I’m so sorry. But this is the way God
gives to us. Now imagine, for a moment, that the minute you opened the gift, your inaccurate feelings of unworthiness trumped your need for the gift and you rejected it. Instead of reveling in the goodness surrounding you, you returned the gift. Even though you’d always wanted it, asked for it, and prayed for it, you never actually received it. What a tragedy that would be.
The blessings that your parents intended for you would be left unwanted, unaccepted. Your decision to reject the beautifully precious gift would leave you without the blessing and leave your parents hurt, knowing the good they intended for you would never be experienced by you.
The same is true for us in relationship to God. We must learn to receive. Receiving isn’t prideful in and of itself. Receiving when done with a humbly thankful, grateful heart is precious in the sight of God. When receiving this way, we can recognize that the gift wasn’t given because of the goodness of its recipient, but rather the generosity of the Giver.
Freely receive today.
"Freely receive His extravagant love for you. Freely receive His exuberant joy. Freely receive His undeniable, unshakable peace. Freely receive the unwavering identity He has for you. Freely receive the gentle-nudging gestures of kindness He is placing in your everyday. Freely receive His superior provision for your life—above and beyond what you could do, earn or supply. Freely receive His unquenchable hope for this season. Freely receive delightful purpose and unwavering promises for you and your family."
Comments