Haggai 1:4–14
Malachi 3:10
Romans 12:10; 15:1–3
I Corinthians 12:28; 16:1–4
II Corinthians 8:16–21
I’ve always been fascinated by the examples of generosity we see in scripture, and they have always been both an encouragement and a challenge to me: the Israelites bringing such abundant offerings of gold, silver, and fabric for the construction of the Tabernacle that Moses had to tell them to stop giving (Exodus 35:4–29; 36:3–7); the radically sacrificial offering of the widow’s mite (Mark 12:41–44; Luke 21:1–4); Mary of Bethany’s extravagant anointing of Jesus with expensive perfume despite criticism from others (John 12:1–8); and the early church’s voluntary sharing of possessions so that no one among them was in need (Acts 2:42–47; 4:32–37).
Of course, the greatest act of generosity is Jesus’s own: humbling himself to take on flesh, dwell among us, and ultimately become the sacrifice for our sins while we were still his enemies. That greatest of all gifts should be the foundation of our own generosity and the model for how we are to become living sacrifices out of devotion to him and for the furtherance of his kingdom.
Though we can’t live that way perfectly this side of heaven, scripture is full of examples of the Lord working through regular people like us, showing how we’re called to live lives of generosity.
We usually think of generosity in terms of money, and scripture gives many examples showing that freely giving from our income and assets is an important part of it. But generosity can be applied more broadly, to anything we find precious. Beyond financial resources, what about our time, our expertise, our influence, or our hospitality? Thankfully, Scripture gives us examples in each of these areas too.
Time
- Outside of Jesus, the Good Samaritan may be scripture’s clearest example of generosity with time: he interrupts his journey, personally cares for the wounded man, transports him to an inn, stays until he’s stable, arranges for his ongoing care, and promises to return—costing him not just money, but his schedule, convenience, emotional energy, and personal attention (Luke 10:25–37).
- Barnabas offers another example of investing time: he sought out Saul (Paul) when others distrusted him, spent a year teaching alongside him in Antioch, and later devoted himself to restoring John Mark after Paul had given up on him—consistently giving people his encouragement and personal investment (Acts 9:26–28; 11:22–26; 15:36–39).
Gifting
- God gifted Bezalel and Oholiab as skilled artisans, using their vocational expertise to build the tabernacle as an act of worship and service (Exodus 31:1–11; 35:30–36:7).
- When Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law, visited to rejoice in God’s work leading Israel out of Egypt, he observed Moses exhausting himself by judging every dispute alone, and used his own leadership experience to advise Moses to appoint capable leaders over thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens (Exodus 18:1–27).
Influence
- Nehemiah uses his position in the Persian court to gain permission, letters of safe passage, and supplies to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls, even sacrificing his own privileges to do so (Nehemiah 2–5).
- Similarly, Queen Esther uses her position as queen of Persia to intercede for the Jewish people against Haman’s plot to destroy them, willingly risking her life—and God uses her courage, wisdom, and influence to preserve His people (Esther 4:13–16; 5:1–8; 7:1–10; 8:1–17).
Hospitality
- The widow of Zarephath shares her food with Elijah despite having only enough for one final meal (1 Kings 17:8–16), while the wealthy Shunammite woman builds Elisha a furnished room so he always has a place to stay (2 Kings 4:8–37)—two very different circumstances, but the same spirit of hospitality.
- Lydia offers another example: after believing the gospel, she opens her home to Paul and his companions, making it a center for the new church in Philippi (Acts 16:11–15, 40).
These accounts illustrate a biblical principle: God entrusts His people with every kind of resource—not just money—to bless others. Homes become places of ministry, occupations become instruments of service, leadership becomes a means of blessing, and influence becomes an opportunity to advance God’s purposes. Peter summarized this biblical vision of generosity as faithful stewardship of all that God has entrusted to us:
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” (1 Peter 4:10)
In our culture, we spend so much time accumulating and guarding the things we find precious. I wonder how different my kingdom impact would be if, over the course of my life, I’d spent as much time considering how those things could be generously used for others as I’ve spent building and protecting them. What could be the impact of my Friday nights, my professional expertise, a spare bedroom, my investment account, or even my church facilities, all used more generously for the kingdom?
One of the beautiful things about the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12–27; Romans 12:3–8)—including our own small but important part of it here at 2PC—is that every member has different gifts, and the Lord expects us to use all of them for His glory and the furtherance of His kingdom. After 44 years of membership, and with three generations of my family blessed by the Lord through 2PC’s ministry, I don’t know how I could love our church family more. But as much as I love our church, I wonder how different we would look—how different our city, even our world would look—if we all fully devoted ourselves to seeking the Lord about how we can generously share not only our income and assets, but also our time, our expertise, our influence, and everything else we treasure. I pray the Lord will lead us, and all those He calls to join us, to see what that could look like over the next decade and beyond.
To that end…
We pray to be a church community that generously shares our time, spiritual gifts, financial resources, and physical spaces, using our campus as a welcoming hub for worship, outreach, and spiritual formation.