Be an imitator of God

God is very generous and liberal. He lavishes his blessings on all people, both the righteous and the wicked! In the coming few weeks you will discover how to enjoy the blessings of God more fully and how you may become an imitator of God in his generosity.

Discover the joy of giving!

The law about sowing and harvesting is universal and applies to all areas of our lives. Jesus demonstrated this for us through his life. He also spent a lot of his time teaching about money and our relationship to material things. He did this to help to free people from materialistic bondage and to set them free from slavery to covetousness and envy. He wanted to give his disciples a liberating attitude to life, money and working for a living so that they could live without worries.

Jesus’ desire to help people discover the joy of giving runs throughout his teaching. We remember the words he said:

«It is more blessed to give than to receive» (Acts 20:35)

Jesus says this out of personal experience. Throughout his life he gave of himself and, in the end, gave life itself for others by dying for the sins of us all. It was his nature to give because he was the reflection of God’s nature.

Be animitator of God

The whole universe bears witness to God’s generosity. All that he has created shows that he is unstinting and magnanimous. The variety in nature, the profusion of flowers, the myriads of stars tell us that God is a generous giver. He allows the sun to shine on the righteous and the unrighteous in the same way that the rain falls on all. He opens his hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.

God, who gives generously to all without finding fault. (Jam. 1:5)

Every good and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights. (Jam. 1:17)

God gives to everyone! It is his nature to give because God is love. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, to free us from destruction (John 3.16). God’s word says, therefore:

He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all - how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things. (Rom. 8:32)

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Jesus Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Eph. 5:1,2)

Right perspectives - right priorities

It is so important that we have a Christian view of life, for then we will see things in a right perspective. People who do not know God look for security in riches and prosperity. They trust only in themselves and what they can produce. They believe that they control their own lives and own all that they earn themselves. They see themselves as independent and self-sufficient and set great value on being able to eat and drink and enjoy life. Jesus shows how unwise it is to have such a view of life:

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions”

And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’ Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself: “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21)

It is not what one owns which gives life! The person is poor who is not rich in God. It is a foolish and short sighted philosophy of life that does not put God first! A right perspective on life will give us right priorities!

Exercise:

How do you know that God is generous?

How are you showing generosity?

Continue to memorise and add this Bible verse:

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)