ODJ: radical generosity
October 16, 2011
If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry (v.11).
READ: Luke 3:7-14
You’ve likely heard the phrase: “He’d give you the shirt off his back.” It describes the kind of generosity displayed by someone who thinks of the needs of others ahead of his own.
A pastor friend of mine infused life into that phrase when he gave this startling challenge to his congregation: “What would happen if we took the coats off our backs and gave them to the needy?” Then he took his own coat and laid it at the front of the church. Dozens of others followed his example of radical generosity. This was in a northern winter climate, so the trip home from church was surely uncomfortable. But winter suddenly became more tolerable for the many people who received those coats.
When John the Baptizer was roaming the Judean wilderness, he had a stern warning for the crowd who came out to hear him. “You brood of snakes!” he scolded them. “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Luke 3:7-8). So they asked him, “What should we do?” (v.10). He responded with some practical advice: “If you have two shirts, give one to the poor. If you have food, share it with those who are hungry” (v.11).
Notice that John’s advice wasn’t literally to give the shirts off their backs. Rather, he exhorted them to give out of their abundance. “If you have . . . ” In other words, take care of your own needs, but don’t hoard things. Be generous.
Our giving shouldn’t be guilt-based, for “God loves a person who gives cheerfully” (2 Corinthians 9:7). But when we give liberally, we find that it truly is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). None of us is too poor to give something. —Tim Gustafson
What are you not using that might be given to someone who has a need? What three people can you help this week in ways they might not expect?
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