Generosity as Grace: Ripples That Transform Our World

Jesus is the most generous person ever alive because Jesus is God, and God is the most generous God ever. And so Jesus was was, you know, understanding as we are all called to understand that everything we have belongs to God anyway. It isn't our stuff. It isn't our money. It isn't even our lives. That all of it belongs to God, and God is lending it to us for while we're alive. [00:59:00] (31 seconds)  #EverythingBelongsToGod

And he became poor and became human and walked this earth so that we could then be blessed by his grace, and we could become rich in love, in grace, in generosity, in peace, in forgiveness, in all of those, all of the fruit of the Holy Spirit. So they're saying, you can't outgive Jesus. You can't do it. [00:58:34] (26 seconds)  #YouCantOutgiveJesus

Right? We were the strangers. And they knew that they were called to welcome the stranger, to feed the stranger, to include the stranger. And so throughout our time there, that's what we experienced, this incredible sense of people welcoming us, blessing us with food, and, with their stories, and inviting us into their homes. It was a wonderful gift, and it made me realize that they had definitely understood that part of our DNA as Christians from the very beginning of time has been this gift of generosity and sharing what we have with each other. [00:51:42] (38 seconds)  #WelcomeTheStranger

All of you, I hope, know that, but there are an awful lot of people out there who don't. And and we are given the gift of sharing that amazing message, but it does sometimes cost us. But here's the amazing gift of all, is Marty called it ripples in her prayer, but I wanna think about it too as not only ripples, but as the ripples coming back as like a cycle of grace, as something that you give a gift, and then that person gives a gift, and that person gives a gift, and it just eventually comes back to you, and it keeps on going around and around and around until it encircles this entire world. [01:02:54] (45 seconds)  #RipplesOfGrace

Can you imagine people coming to Epworth and saying, I'm begging you. Please let me give you money so that we can support our ministry. I mean, I really hope that happens someday. And I believe maybe it will, but this is what was happening. They were begging. They were like, we want to be part of this too. [00:56:17] (19 seconds)  #SupportOurMinistry

But something shifted when I thought about the fact that it's not mine anyway. It's God's. Everything I have is God's. And so I'm invited to say, God, what do you want me to do with all of these resources? What do you want me to do with my life? What do you want me to do with my gifts? What do you want me to do with my time? [00:59:42] (22 seconds)  #EverythingIsGods

And so Epworth continues to feed people body, mind, and spirit. And you may be tempted to think, well, know, Epworth doesn't really need money because we've got millionaires who support us. But the truth of the matter is every single gift matters. Every gift that you give makes a difference. All of it works together. That's the whole thing with Ubuntu, right, is that all of the pieces work together so that we can do something far more than any one of us could do alone. [01:11:32] (32 seconds)  #EveryGiftMatters

And she would put them in her bag, and she would carry them back out, praying the entire time that they would not cry or wake up or startle or anything else. And she went in and out and saved over 700 children. And so, she used her own money to, you know, bribe when she needed to, to get families to adopt these children, and they did. [01:05:54] (28 seconds)  #SavedOver700