Generosity
Remember this — a farmer who plants only a
few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a
generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give
reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives
cheerfully.” And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always
have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. As the Scriptures say, “They share freely and give generously to the
poor. Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” For God is the
one who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he
will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of
generosity in you. (2 Cor. 9:6-10)
Amy Wells knew that
her bridal shop would be busy – brides-to-be took full advantage of the days
right after Thanksgiving. Traditionally, it was not uncommon for a cluster of
in-laws and siblings to spend the better part of the holiday weekend looking at
wedding dresses in her store. And Amy was prepared to give great service to the
shoppers. But she never expected to give grace to a dying man.
Across town,
Jack Autry was in the hospital, struggling to stay alive. He was in the final
stages of melanoma, and had collapsed two days earlier. His extended family was
in town not just to celebrate Thanksgiving, but to make preparations for his
daughter's wedding. Chrysalis was only months from getting married. The women
in the family had planned to spend the day selecting a wedding gown. But now with
Jack in the hospital, Chrysalis didn't want to go. Jack, however, insisted.
So, after a lot
of persuasion, Chrysalis, her mother, her future mother-in-law, and her sisters
went to the bridal salon. The shop owner noticed that the women were a little subdued,
but assumed that they were just a quiet family. She helped Chrysalis try on
dress after dress until she found an ivory duchess, silk and satin gown that
everyone loved. Jack called Chrysalis his princess, and the dress, Chrysalis said,
made her look like one. And that's when Amy heard about Jack. Because of the
cancer, he couldn't come see his daughter in her dress. And because of the
medical bills, the family couldn't afford the dress yet. It appeared that Jack
Autry would die without seeing his daughter dressed as a bride.
Amy would hear
nothing of it. She told Chrysalis to take the gown and veil to the hospital and
wear it for her daddy. She later remarked, "I knew it was fine. There was
no doubt in my mind to do this. God was talking to me." No credit card was
requested, or given. Amy didn't even take down a phone number. She urged the
family to go directly to the hospital, and Chrysalis didn't have to be told
twice.
When she arrived
at her father's room, he was heavily medicated and asleep. As family members
woke him, the doors to the room slowly opened, and there he saw his daughter,
engulfed in yards of layered, billowing silk. He was able to stay alert for
about twenty seconds. "But those twenty seconds were magical,"
Chrysalis remembers. "My daddy saw me walk in wearing the most beautiful
dress. He was really weak. He smiled and just kept looking at me. I held his
hand, and he held mine. I asked him if I looked like a princess . . . He
nodded. He looked at me a little more, and it almost looked like he was about
to cry. And then he went to sleep." Three days later, Jack Autry was gone.
Amy's generosity
created a moment of cascading grace. God to Amy to Chrysalis to Jack. And isn't
that how it works? Isn't that how God works? He starts the process, doesn’t he?
He doesn't just love; he “lavishes us with love.” (1 John 3:1) He doesn't just dole
out wisdom; he "gives generously to all without finding fault."
(James 1:5) He is rich in "kindness, tolerance and patience." (Rom.
2:4) His grace is "exceedingly abundant" (1 Tim. 1:14) and
"indescribable." (2 Cor. 9:14-15) He overflowed the table of the
prodigal with a banquet, the vats at the wedding with wine, and Peter’s boat with
fish. Twice. He healed all who sought health, taught all who wanted
instruction, and saved all who accepted the gift of salvation. God
"supplies seed to the sower and bread for food." (2 Cor. 9:10)
The Greek verb
for "supplies," epichoregeo, pulls
back the curtain on God's generosity. It combines the word for “stage chorus,”
or "dance" (choros), with
the verb "to lead" (hegeomai).
Thus, the word literally means, "to lead a stage chorus or dance." In
other words, when God gives, he dances for joy. He strikes up the band and leads
the giving parade. He loves to give. He even promised a whopping return on our
service. For instance, Peter asked Jesus, "See, we have left all and
followed You. Therefore what shall we have?" (Matt. 19:27) Seems like a
good opportunity for Jesus to chastise Peter's "What's in it for me?"
attitude. But he didn't. Instead, he assured Peter, as well as all disciples,
that we "shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life."
(Matt. 19:29) Jesus promised a gain of 10,000% and eternal life. That would be like me giving you $100.00 today
for every $1.00 you gave me yesterday, and I can’t promise you eternity. But that’s
what the Bible calls God: generous.
He dispenses his
goodness like a fire hydrant, not an eyedropper. Your heart is a thimble, and
his grace is the Pacific Ocean. You simply can't contain it all. God encourages
us to let it bubble over; to let it spill out. "Freely you have received,
freely give." (Matt. 10:8) When grace happens, generosity happens.
Unsquashable, eyepopping big-heartedness happens. That’s what happened to
Zacchaeus.
If the New
Testament has a con artist, this is the guy. He never met a person he couldn't
cheat, or saw a dollar he couldn't hustle. He was a "chief tax collector."
(Luke 19:2) First-century tax collectors fleeced anything that walked, and he
was the best-of-the-best. The Roman government allowed tax collectors to keep
all they could swindle, and Zacchaeus took a lot. "He was rich," (v.
2) as in Maserati rich; alligator
shoes rich; tailored suit and manicured nails rich. Filthy rich. But guilty
rich?
Zacchaeus wouldn't
be the first shyster to feel a little remorse. And he wouldn't be the first to
wonder if Jesus could help him shake his regrets. Maybe that's how he ended up
in a tree. Because when Jesus traveled through Jericho, half the town showed up
to get a look. Zacchaeus was among them. But citizens of Jericho weren't about
to let the short-in-stature, long-on-enemies Zacchaeus elbow his way to the
front of the crowd. So, he was left hopping up and down behind a wall of
people, hoping to get just a glimpse of the Nazarene. And that's when he spotted
the sycamore.
He shimmied up
the tree, and scurried to the outermost branch. He was happy to go out on a
limb to get a good look at Christ. He never once imagined that Christ would
take a good look at him. But Jesus did. "Zacchaeus, come down immediately.
I must stay at your house today." (v. 5) Stunned, the pint-sized petty
thief looked to one side, and then the other, in case another Zacchaeus happened
to be in the tree with him. Turns out, Jesus was talking to him since he was
the only Zacchaeus out on a limb.
Of all the homes
in town, Jesus selected Zack's. Financed with illegal money, avoided by
neighbors, yet on that day it was graced by the presence of Jesus. Zacchaeus
was never quite the same. "Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my
possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will
pay back four times the amount." (Luke 19:8) Grace walked in the front
door, and selfishness scampered out the back. It changed his heart. Has grace
changed yours? The truth is that some people resist the change. The ungrateful
servant that Jesus spoke about certainly did.
In Jesus’ story,
the servant owed more money to the king than he could ever repay – about $9,296,304,000.00
– in today’s dollars. Try as he might, the man couldn't make the payments. He'd
more likely see donkeys flying than find cash for his overwhelming debt.
"So the king ordered that he, his wife, his children, and everything he
had be sold to pay the debt. But the man fell down before the king and begged
him, 'Oh, sir, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.' Then the king was
filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt."
(Matt. 18:25-27)
At that, the man
made a beeline to the house of a guy who owed him just a few bucks in
comparison to the whopper he’d just been forgiven. The just-blessed would now become
the quick-to-bless, right? Not so much. He demanded payment. Immediately. He
turned a deaf ear to the man’s pleas for mercy and had him locked up in a debtors'
prison. How could he be such a Scrooge? Jesus doesn't tell us. He leaves us to
speculate. My guess? Grace never happened to the billionaire borrower.
He thought he
had bamboozled the system and fleeced the old man. He exited the king's castle
not with a thankful heart like, “What a great king I serve," but with a puffed-out
chest: “What a clever man I am!" The king’s other servants eventually ratted
the guy out and the king went ballistic. "You evil servant! I forgave you
that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn't you have mercy on
your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?" (vv. 32-33) Needless to
say, it didn’t end well for the dastardly dodger. The once-forgiven was summarily
tossed into prison and tortured until he paid his debt in full. Word has it
he’s still making license plates at 13¢ an hour.
The point of the
story is that the grace-given give grace. Do you? How long has it been since
your generosity stunned someone? How long has it been since someone objected,
"No, really, that’s way too generous"? If it’s been a while,
reconsider God's extravagant grace. "Forget not all his benefits, who
forgives all your iniquity." (Ps. 103:2-3) Let grace un-scrooge your
heart. "Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ." (2 Peter 3:18). And as you do, you’ll find yourself doing what Amy
and Chrysalis did: brightening dark corners with bridal splendor – like a
butterfly exploding from its cocoon.
And proclaiming the
promise of a wedding to come.
Grace,
Randy
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