One of the greatest ways to witness of your faith to others is through generosity. The Bible clearly teaches that believers need to be generous. There’s a touching story in Acts 9:36-41. A widow named Dorcas (or Tabitha in Greek) in the town of Joppa had died. The believers heard that Peter was close by so they summoned him to come. When he walked into the room we read in Acts 9:39: “The room was filled with widows who were weeping and showing him the coats and other clothes Dorcas had made for them.” Dorcas had been very generous with her talents. They were grief-stricken. Peter was moved by their love for her. So, he brought her back from the dead. Imagine that!
This story reminds us of the impact we can have on others through generosity. But it’s important we get a glimpse into biblical generosity. Here are five things…
Biblical generosity…
Includes everything! We often think that being generous is just about money. But that’s not the case. We need to be generous with our time, our talents, our gifts, our resources, our hospitality, our friendship. We can listen to someone who is hurting, bring a meal to someone who just had surgery, sit with someone who is feeling alone, or meet a particular need.
Goes to everyone! In our story in Acts, Dorcas is known by two names – one Jewish and one Gentile (or Greek). This tells us that her generosity went beyond her community. Our generosity should also go beyond our community or our church as well. It needs to extend to the unsaved, the difficult neighbor, the atheist, the couple living a lifestyle we may not agree with. By extending generosity beyond our inner circle, we point people to Jesus.
Does not expect anything in return! I’ve seen people get bent out of shape, or feel offended, or shut themselves off when their generosity is not reciprocated. Then bitterness develops. Biblical generosity does not expect anything in return. A lot of the time, our kindness will be overlooked. But God sees it and that’s all that matters.
Comes from a grateful heart! God extended His generosity to us by sending His Son to pay for our sins and offer us life. For this, we should be very grateful. In fact, we should live in thankful mode every day and one way to prove our thankfulness to Jesus is to be generous to others. We don’t extend generosity out of duty (because it’s the right thing to do). But we extend it from a heart that is so very thankful for what has been given to us.
Receives God’s blessings! For Dorcas, God gave her life back so that she would have more time to bless others with her talents. Our key verse today says that “the amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9:8: “God loves a person who gives cheerfully.”
I want to be a Dorcas. I want to give generously from the depths of my heart. I want to share Jesus with others through generosity. I hope you do too. Let me encourage you today to ask the Lord how you can extend generosity to someone.