The Power Of Giving

• Who’s the most generous person you know? Explain.

• How can we as a family be more generous?

When they arrived at the House of the LORD in Jerusalem, some of the heads of the families gave freewill offerings toward the rebuilding of the House of God on its site. According to their ability, they gave to the treasury for this work 61,000 darics of gold, 5,000 minas of silver, and 100 priestly garments.
Ezra 2:68-69

Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians in 587 BC. The entire city was destroyed, and its people were taken captive in Babylon. Seventy years later, the Israelites started moving back to their homeland to rebuild Jerusalem. Their first priority was the temple, the place where they worshiped God. The people wanted the rebuilt temple to be special, so they gave their money and materials freely.

God’s people understood that generous giving honors God. But generosity isn’t measured in donation totals. The person who gives the most money is not necessarily the most generous person. Generosity is measured in attitude and spirit.

One day Jesus was standing near the temple treasury, where people came to present their offerings. He watched several wealthy people put in large gifts. Behind them, a poor widow put in two very small coins. So whose gift did Jesus praise? The widow’s because those two coins were all she had to live on. Her gift was a sacrifice (see Mark 12:41-44).

The woman understood that God could do more with her money than she could. And she knew he would take care of her, with or without the coins. That’s the kind of giving spirit that honors God. That’s the kind of spirit we should strive for.

PRAYER
Dear God, thank you for the opportunity to honor you with our giving. Show us new ways we can use what we have for your sake. Amen