February 28 - Gifts

"And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, 'Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:….'" Genesis. 2:16.

Think about that statement for a moment. Was God being stingy when he gave that command? This offer was a very generous offer-to eat of every tree of the garden, except one, of course. Some of the most impressive people I have ever known are the generous ones. I have known people that seemed to have no selfishness about them. They give without even thinking about it. Of course, they have thought about it; they have thought about how good it is to give, how more blessed it is, and they have given freely to me, to others, and they were blessed by the generous God after whom they had modeled their own life.

So instead of thinking about God being stingy, think of the most generous, loving person you have ever known and remember that God's love and generosity far surpass such qualities of any human being. Yet we worry. We worry about how to provide for ourselves and our family and our church. Why should we worry? What is the worst thing that we think could happen? Will God pull the rug out from under us and our church? Will He begin the work and not complete it?

Let us not think so wickedly about our God, who has not held back even His only Son that He might be even more generous to us than He was to Adam and Eve in telling them they could eat from any tree but one in the Garden. If we believe that He is generous, then we will trust Him with our funds, all of them. Faith is the hardest thing, but it is the most important thing.

- Win Johnson