Sometimes I wonder, what is God really like? We spend a lot of time talking about God and Church, religion and spirituality, but sometimes all this talk can get in the way of us really getting to know God. Have you ever wondered what God is really like? How would you describe God? Finish this sentence: God is...
For most people, the instinctive answer is love. “God is love.” This is how John’s Gospel finishes the “God is...” sentence (John 4:8). There is an infinite number of endings to the sentence. God is creative, astounding, patient, uplifting, hopeful, encouraging, eternal, inspiring, omnipotent, omnipresent, good, transcendent, just, merciful, benevolent, fascinating…
And God is generous. The evidence of God’s generosity is everywhere, all around us and deep within us.
At every turn we encounter the immensity of God’s generosity. Creation is generous. Free will is generous. Life is generous. Love is generous. The generosity of God is awesome and abundant.
You were created in the image of God. This is one of the first things we discover about ourselves in the Bible (Genesis 1:27). I saw a sign the other day that read: “You were created in the image of God. Act like it.” It made me smile. I thought it was clever, profound, and challenging.
God is generous and you were made in the image of God. How are you going to express your generosity today?
One of the most impactful and beautiful expressions of generosity is encouragement. I have always thought of the Holy Spirit as the Great Encourager. And as a father, I believe one of my key responsibilities is to encourage my children. We all thrive when we are authentically encouraged.
But the thing is, we all need encouragement in order to move beyond today’s obstacles and flourish.
So, here is today’s generosity habit.
Go out of your way to encourage someone today. It could be someone you know and love, it could be a stranger. Encouraging others is a beautiful expression of generosity and a powerful way to allow the image of God to shine in and through you.
Your encouragement is an abundant resource. You could spend all day giving it away, and your supply wouldn’t be even slightly diminished at the end of the day.
Encouraging others is another way of being generous that doesn’t require money or possessions, proving again that each and every single one of us can live a staggeringly generous life.
Matthew Kelly
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