Generosity

So, the other day, I was at my Grandma and Grandpa's house for supper. They were celebrating my birthday, which was almost 3 weeks ago, but we are both very busy. Needless to say, it was a great meal, with great fellowship, topped off with a great banana split (sorry diet - you took one for the team). But this blog is not about what I eat or don't eat. It's about how to glorify our Creator God, and what that looks like to me.

So before the meal, my grandparents and I were talking, and they were telling me (I don't know why or how this came up) how they were short on money this month because they had dated a check wrong and now they had to pay double for it. Being a good grandson, and humble too, I felt bad for them, and I started thinking about ways to help them out.

DISCLAIMER! Nothing in this post is meant to be prideful. It is simply me telling a story about how my grandparents embarrassed me with their love for Christ, and therefore for me. But this is a good thing. Through gathering those who embarrass you in your faith in God, you strive to become better, not that you can become more like them, but instead more like Christ. More on this later.

So anyways, we continued talking, and then after being acquainted with the Walton family (you should watch it sometime), we sat down for a nice home cooked Mennonite meal. Mennonite sausage from Manitoba, cukes, spaghetti, buns, and fresh picked that day corn on the cob. Delicious to say the least.

When the meal was finished, the burps were through, the toothpicks disposed of, and the stomachs full to bursting, Grandma busts out the banana splits. Oh, the joys of my youth. With this comes a birthday card, which by the way I had seen Grandpa writing when I came in the door. You know when you get a birthday card, and you open it and money falls out, it is awesome right? A hidden blessing for sure. However, this time, I was hoping there was nothing in it, because they had just gotten through telling me how little they had and how they had to scrape by this month. For the first time in my life, I was disappointed to see money fall out of my birthday card as I opened it to read the inside.

Now, this is not to say that I didn't appreciate the gift that they had given me. In fact, at that moment that I opened the card, I was, like I said, embarrassed. I was embarrassed because even they had so little (from what they told me), they still gave me money to celebrate my birthday. I honestly had to fight back the tears just as the realization hit me about the beautiful truth of the Gospel. Jesus had the universe (and still does) when He was in Heaven. Yet He gave it all up to come down to us. He gave it all up to gain me.

Let me say this again. Jesus had it ALL. He gave it ALL up. And then, He died a sinner's death for ME. And He rose again for ME. He also did all of this for YOU. If you are reading this, and you don't know Christ, I just want to say, He loves you. He loves you more than any fallible and sinful human ever will.

Anyways, as I choked back the tears (because I am somewhat prideful and don't like to let people see me cry), I said probably one of the most grateful "Thank You's" I have ever uttered. They didn't know it, and might never, but the thank you was not only to them, but also to my Saviour. You see, in that moment, the reason I was embarrassed was not because of the money. I was embarrassed because of my lack of faith in comparison to theirs. Not that I compare myself to them, but even Paul said, "Follow me as I follow Christ." I was reminded of the widow in Luke 20-21, when the widow puts in 2 copper coins to the offering, and that is likely all she has. Yet Jesus says she put in more than anyone there. Isn't that astounding? That we have a God who is so merciful that He treats us not by the amount we give or serve, but rather by the heart behind it. This is our God, and He IS love.

I know that I fall so incredibly short of the Holiness of God. However, I am and will continue to work on it. I will work through my faith. To glorify God, is to be a person of faith - in all things, through Jesus Christ. Amen.