By Timothy Peoples
Today begins the first of three Sundays where we will speak on stewardship and generosity. “The Stewardship of Believing,” to be exact. What can we believe together that God can do in our midst? Before you run out to your car to leave or commit to not coming the next couple of weeks, hear me out.
Christian generosity is more than the act of giving; it is the reflection of God’s own generous nature at work within us. From the very beginning, God has been the first and greatest giver, creating the world out of love. Everything we have — our time, our abilities, our resources, even the breath in our lungs — comes as a gift from God. When we truly grasp that truth, generosity becomes our natural response. It flows not from obligation or guilt, but from gratitude and love.
To be generous is to live with open hands and open hearts, willing to share what God has entrusted to us. It’s not limited to financial giving; it includes the giving of our time, our compassion, our forgiveness and our presence. Every act of kindness and every moment spent serving others is an expression of Christian generosity. At its heart, it is love in action, a way of participating in God’s ongoing work of restoration in the world. Every time we give, whether it’s a dollar in the offering plate, a meal shared with a neighbor or an hour spent serving someone in need, we are imitating the heart of God. Because at the center of our faith is a generous God: a God who gives freely, abundantly and without hesitation. Generosity is not measured by the size of the gift, but by the love that inspires it. The smallest offering given with a joyful heart can do great things in God’s hands.
Generosity becomes an act of worship — a visible sign that we believe God’s abundance is greater than our scarcity. Through generosity, we not only meet the needs of others, but we also grow in joy, gratitude and closeness to God. In short, generosity is the joyful, faithful sharing of all that God has given us — rooted in love, guided by gratitude and sustained by trust in God’s endless provision.
Let our giving, then, be an act of love. Love for God, love for one another and love for the ministry we share. For when love leads our giving, we find that generosity is not a burden but a calling, not an obligation but a privilege.