Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, welcome to your daily Grace By Timothy Wilder Foundations Episode 122 Grace and Generosity Generosity Beyond Money when the topic of generosity comes up, most of us immediately think about money.
[00:00:19] That's understandable, because financial giving is one of the most visible expressions of generosity in Scripture.
[00:00:27] Yet the longer I walk with Christ, the more I realize that some of the most meaningful acts of generosity have very little to do with money at all.
[00:00:38] One of the lessons God taught my wife and me came during our years of ministry in Russia. We often worked with orphanages, and whenever possible, we tried to help meet practical needs. Sometimes that involved financial support.
[00:00:55] On one occasion, we helped fund the repair and remodeling of a bathroom that was badly needed. Projects like that were important because they improved the quality of life for the children and staff.
[00:01:09] Yet when I look back on those years, the financial gifts are not what stand out most clearly in my memory.
[00:01:18] What I remember is spending time with the children.
[00:01:22] Sometimes we would sit together in a common room and simply talk. Other times we would head outside and play games on the playground. Back then, we were still young enough to run around with them without regretting it later.
[00:01:36] Those moments seemed ordinary at the time, but they became some of the most important parts of the ministry.
[00:01:44] Years later, when we returned and saw some of those same children again, it was rarely the building projects they remembered. They remembered the conversations, they remembered the games.
[00:01:57] They remembered being noticed.
[00:02:00] What remained in their hearts was not primarily what had been spent on them, but the time that had been invested in them.
[00:02:08] That experience changed the way I think about generosity, Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:8, freely you have received freely give. As recipients of God's grace, we are called to become channels of that grace to others.
[00:02:27] Sometimes that will involve financial resources, but often it will involve something just as valuable ourselves.
[00:02:35] Peter echoes this thought in 1 Peter 4:10 when he encourages believers to use whatever gifts they have received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace.
[00:02:49] Every one of us has been entrusted with something that can benefit someone else.
[00:02:54] Some have resources. Some have skills. Some have wisdom born from experience.
[00:03:00] Others possess the remarkable ability to encourage, listen, comfort, or simply be present when someone needs a friend.
[00:03:10] Romans 12:13 encourages believers to practice hospitality, and Hebrews 13:16 reminds us not to forget the to do good and share with others.
[00:03:21] Neither passage limits generosity to finances.
[00:03:25] Instead, they point toward a lifestyle that continually looks for ways to bless others.
[00:03:32] Under the new covenant, generosity is not measured merely by the size of a gift. It is measured by the willingness of a heart that understands grace.
[00:03:42] The more aware we become of all that we have freely received in Christ, the more naturally we seek opportunities to freely give.
[00:03:52] Galatians 6:10 tells us to do good whenever we have the opportunity.
[00:03:58] Those opportunities surround us every day. Sometimes generosity will involve our wallet. Other times it will involve our schedule, our talents, our encouragement, or our presence.
[00:04:11] And if my years in Russia taught me anything, it is that people often remember the love behind the gift long after they have forgotten the gift itself.
[00:04:23] Thanks for listening. If you are being fed and or uplifted by these messages, we encourage you to like, comment, share, and subscribe. These things help us spread the message of grace.
