The first email I opened as I sat at my desk on a cold, wet Monday morning was from a work colleague and it contained a link to a story that made me smile and immediately brightened my day.
The story centred on a church in America that, following a congregation member receiving a prompting from God, decided to pay off the medical bills of 3921 families, totalling $8 million. How amazing! That is abundant, life-enhancing, godly generosity in action.
What I really love about this story, beyond the obvious obedience to God, is that we know generosity doesn’t exist in a vacuum and is not just about the giver or the recipient. A generous life touched by God has the power to exceed our lifetime.
The wonderful power of a generous community
Irrespective of whether we are just beginning our time on earth or are closer to being promoted to glory, what we do today shapes the legacy we leave tomorrow. The good news is that every single person, without exception, has the potential to create a legacy of generosity.
My life for the last 25 years has been immersed in the world of finance as I have been a financial adviser, an ordained church leader and a fundraiser, and currently I am Head of Giving for the Evangelical Alliance. Because of this I often find myself surrounded by a multitude of amazing people who give generously to causes that are close to their hearts.
When we give to another there is no hierarchy in this transaction; it is an expression of love and allows us to enter another’s world, to achieve things together that we could never do alone. It is a practical demonstration of Romans 12:4–8: one body, many members, distinct functions but all belonging to each other.
God is the greatest giver of all; no one can outgive Him
John 3:16 tells us that “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (emphasis mine). One of the ways God expresses His love is by giving. God is the ultimate giver.
If we turn to Scripture, I believe all we can ever learn about giving we learn from God. In every book of the Bible, we read how He gave of Himself. The hints that we read in the Old Testament come to fruition in the New Testament when He gave His Son, who then gave His life that we might live.
But it doesn’t end there – while preparing His disciples for His departure Jesus told them that God would “give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever – the Spirit of truth” (John 14:16–17). Our God continuously blesses us with His generosity.
Right at the beginning, in the book of Genesis, we read that He created the heavens and the earth. The earth was empty but God filled it with creative generosity. We only have to observe the brilliance of a sunset, wander around a zoo or meander through the countryside to see that this world God created is overflowing with elaborate detail and inconceivable harmony. There is so much variety everywhere we look, and it is captivating.
We know so much about the earth, but there are large areas that are still unknown to us, which means there are more thrilling discoveries to be revealed.
For example, despite many of us paddling in the sea, we know more about the moon and Mars than we do of our own ocean floor, despite it covering roughly 71 per cent of the earth’s surface.
If we move our gaze upwards, the stars in the sky are an awesome example of God’s generosity. I live in the Oxfordshire countryside, and I love seeing the stars. Stars exist in vast groups called galaxies. The Milky Way is one such galaxy, containing the sun and approximately one hundred thousand million stars. In addition to the Milky Way, there are millions upon millions of other galaxies, which means billions and billions, even trillions, of stars.
In a throwaway line in Genesis, we are told God also made the stars. A friend recently braved wild camping in Dartmoor for her granddaughter’s birthday and described the sky as not having enough room for the millions of stars it needed to contain. That is our abundantly generous God.
In Genesis 1:26 we read:
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”
In verse 29 this is extended to include “every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it.”
God not only created us, but He also provides for us
We see this repeatedly throughout Scripture and in our normal, everyday lives. I love testimony time at our church, as we get a glimpse of the Father who loves to give. I remember one man, we’ll call him Steve, sharing how he had been driving and had asked for a sign that God was real. At the next set of traffic lights he stopped behind a van that had written in the grime of the van “I love you, Steve”. God is in the details and loves being part of our everyday lives.
It is part of God’s nature to be generous and to give, and He wants us to be the same. In fact, this is part of our discipleship journey; this is part of us becoming more like Him as He has modelled what we can mimic.
My prayer for all of us is that we continue to grow in faith and generosity to such an extent that lives are changed, churches are impacted, charities flourish and the world has no option but to sit up, take notice and acknowledge that Jesus is Lord.
The Big Church Read and a special offer on my new book
My brand new book, Generous with a Capital G can be purchased as part of The Big Church Read from St Andrews Bookshop for a discounted piece of £9.99 (23% off!), or alternatively from Waterstones, Eden or Amazon for £12.99. The basic idea of a Big Church Read is that the whole church reads the same book at the same time, creating a shared experience and an opportunity to impact the wider community. I'm also available to do live events for churches who choose my book as part of their event.
Generous Newsletter
Monthly emails for supporters. Inspiration, practical tools and guidance to support the causes you love in more meaningful ways.
Rev Wendy Pawsey
Reverend Wendy Pawsey is Head of Giving for the Evangelical Alliance, an ordained Elim minister, and a trustee for Regents Theological College. She has more than 25 years’ experience of managing and growing finances in the worlds of banking, church leadership and charitable fundraising.
