Generosity: Our Calling In Life

Last week I wrote how Thanksgiving is one of the difficult parts of faith for one reason: when things are going great, we tend to forget the importance of giving thanks. Likewise when things are going poorly, we struggle to find something to give thanks for! This is true of generosity. When things are going well, we seem to want more and actually exclude generosity from our hearts and when things are going poorly we tend to not see how it is possible to be generous. “God loves people who love to give.” That doesn’t mean that God loves people who give more than God loves people who don’t give. That’s really not how it works with God. I think that little phrase is a reminder to us that it brings God great joy and happiness when we are involved in giving to those who are in need. It brings God pleasure - gladness – delight, when we, who are God’s own children, imitate God. It’s not unlike the feeling we parents have when we see our children do, or say, what we hoped they had learned along the way. True discussions on generosity is not a church attempting to raise the income, but rather change the outcome of people’s life and cast a vision for the Lord’s work to move forward. As a church that has practiced generosity since its inception in 1940, we continue to give outside our walls and due to many who have determined to be generous and obedient to God’s truth, we are growing and expanding. At LFC we value generosity. That statement says much about our God, about our understanding of Jesus Christ, and so much about our own desires. We value generosity, bigheartedness and liberality.
This week we will be pouring out concrete foundation for our new building and we are paying cash as we go. While we remain hopeful and faith-filled that the balance needed to finish the interior of the building as well as the landscaping will come in, we are moving forward. We know God will release to us all we need to accomplish the vision He has placed in our hearts. Where God guides, He always provides. He has determined to provide through the generosity of people just like you. In a time where we could easily gravitate to a heart of scarcity and tightfistedness, we need to remember that God’s promises are not seasonal or based upon economy. His promises for the generous are the same now as they have always been.

Let’s be generous in this season of giving,
Pastor Bernie