Seeking Generosity

At church yesterday we had a reading from 2 Samuel, chapter 9.  It wasn’t a story I knew well, but in essence it told of David looking for a way to show God’s kindness to the descendants of his friend.  I happened to go to the morning and evening services yesterday, and having listened to 2 sermons on the topic, I’m finding that it keeps resurfacing in my brain.  And since I have some child-free time today, I thought I might take a bit of time to process what I was learning yesterday by getting some writing done for once (it’s been a long time since I even turned my computer on, let alone actually wrote something). 

The focus of one of the talks on the reading from 2 Samuel was generosity.  Our speaker challenged us to come up with times when we had experienced undeserved generosity from others.  There were some lovely stories that came out, from people simply feeling welcomed and loved at church even if they only came to a service very infrequently, to gratitude felt by one man for a couple who lived many years ago and were responsible for bringing his parents to faith (which in turn meant he came to know God).  And a story about children seeing a friend in need and going out of their way to make him feel loved and included. 

I’ve been thinking about times when I’ve been a recipient of generosity.  Some have been really simple but very effective, such as a friend knowing I love a particular bit of baking she does and taking time out of her busy schedule to bring me some of her yummy creations.  When my son was born I experienced generosity from our church – each day for the first couple of weeks after his birth, at dinner time, someone from church would turn up at our house with a home cooked meal.  And not only would they bring a delicious meal, but they’d include something sweet for dessert or some chocolates.  It was wonderful to feel so looked after by our community. 

In tough times I’ve experienced generosity too.  When we miscarried our first baby, friends brought flowers and meals.  And they offered us shoulders to cry on or distractions to help give us normality from time to time as we processed our grief.  When my mother was in hospital after a life-threatening car accident, so many people checked in on me and made sure I was OK.  My mother-in-law (to be) called me on Skype pretty much every night while my mother was in hospital, and it meant the world to feel so cared for. 

Happy moments have brought generosity too.  Our wedding, birthdays, graduation, new jobs, when we moved into our first house – at these milestone moments people have shown us generosity and kindness.  To be honest, thinking back on all the love my little family and I have received makes me feel rather emotional! 

I’ve also thought about the ways in which I’ve had an opportunity to show generosity.  And don’t worry, I can think of some.  Certainly when friends have had moments of need, or during opportunities to celebrate with others.  But this isn’t the type of generosity that’s been niggling in my mind since yesterday.  These are, in a sense, moments of generosity earned, or rather moments when generosity might be expected or at least not a surprise.  I’m not actually sure generosity can ever be earned.  No, the challenge for me, from yesterday, was about finding moments for truly undeserved, unexpected and unlimited generosity. 

We sang in church about the amazing grace we receive from God, about His goodness and about His overwhelming, never-ending and reckless love.  We talked about that most undeserved of generous moments, when God gave Jesus to all of us.  And we remembered Jesus’s words, that whatever we do to someone else we are doing to Him.  There is a clear example being handed to us here, and a mandate from God.  Showing His kindness is part and parcel of being a Christian.  It isn’t enough to send people presents on their birthdays and to be a shoulder and rock during tough times.  Instead, really to show God’s kindness, we have to seek out opportunities to show that kindness where people wouldn’t expect it. 

I don’t know exactly what that looks like, but I think it starts by being always on the lookout for moments when we can do something that would make God proud.  It starts by tuning in to those around us and spotting chances to do something that would make a difference to them.  So that’s my challenge now – to work at spotting those opportunities, big or small, to make a difference to someone’s day.  I think if most of us are honest with ourselves, that means a change in mind-set and a new habit to develop.  I’ll say a prayer for myself and anyone else who wants to attempt the same, that this is a habit that comes easily.  And remember, you aren’t doing this alone.  2 Corinthians 9:11 tells us that God will give us what we need – it says:

“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”