God’s Generosity

“I pray that you may have the power to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:18-19

Late in my senior year of high school, my grandfather called and asked if I could pay him a visit. A few days later, I was in his living room, catching up with him as we usually did, but once the chit-chat died down, he pointed to the dining room table and asked if we could move the conversation there. On the table were a few papers spread out, and as we sat down, we started talking about my dream of going to college in the Boston area. Gordon College was my top choice, but my family, like many families during the Great Recession, was not in a position to pay the full tuition. I was starting to think my dream school wasn't meant to be.

My grandfather looked at me and said, “Wesley, I’m going to help pay for your college tuition.” I was in shock as he showed me the paperwork that proved it. He said, “This money isn’t really my money to begin with. All that I own, everything that I have, is God’s. He has entrusted it to me, and it is all a gift that is meant to be shared.”

That day, my grandfather introduced me to a completely new way of seeing life and the responsibility we have for what we have been given. He shared with me the powerful message of God’s generosity and abundance. Though he worked his whole life and had earned every penny that he made, he knew that God was the source of it all.

When we are filled with the “fullness of God,” that means we are overflowing with the gifts God has given us. Our cup truly “runneth over” as Psalm 23 says. We have been given all things through Christ, and we are heirs of a kingdom without end. Because God shares the fullness of Himself with us, we are meant to continue the blessing by sharing it as well. We dare not hold onto these gifts selfishly. It’s not ours to begin with; even life itself is a gift.

Christians are meant to live lives of abundance and generosity because we are aware that all things are God’s, and we should hold onto what we have loosely and with a grateful heart. I learned this valuable lesson from one of my elders. Maybe you can share this good news with someone, too.