This season isn’t just about a building – not even close. This is a discipleship moment for each of us. Will we share in the heart and mission of God?
Paul tells the church to “excel” – to go above and beyond – in generosity (2 Cor. 8:7), but not just for a building, or a campaign, or a program. Paul says that we give to become more like Jesus: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8.9). Is your life shaped by that same gospel trajectory? Does your lifestyle reflect Jesus’ call to sacrifice and self-denial?
Let’s be honest, these are scary questions. Most of us want to be more generous, but it can feel so overwhelming: Where do we start? How do we grow? Generosity sounds great, but what does it look like? The Generosity Journey is a discipleship tool to help us wrestle through these sorts of challenging questions.
As you look through this journey, consider two questions:
Where are you on this journey today (not based on ambitions or aspirations, but actual habits and practices)?
Begin asking God, where do you want me to be? How do you want me to grow?
Don’t focus on what you wish you could do… focus on the next step in front of you. What does that next step look like for you? The call of this season is a call to next steps – disciples of Jesus, growing in your generosity, as an outworking of God’s heart in you!
Don’t be deceived: this is primarily about the state of our hearts, which is exactly what makes self-reflection around our generosity so hard. The challenges are often less about the economics and more about issues of the heart: pride, control, hurt, fear, idols. The call of Jesus is to trust Him more than we trust these other voices (the pride, control, hurt, fear, idols).
LifePoint, in this season, may we come before God, opening our heart to Him, laying everything at His feet, and say, “It’s yours… I’m yours.”