Day 15: Expanding Giving
Read Luke 19:29-35
“The owners said, ‘Why are you untying the donkey?’ (The disciples) said, “The Lord has need of it.” (Luke 19:33-34)
“I already steward my finances to the Lord by giving to the church. How can I find ways to give more?”
Proverbs 3:9 encourages the faithful to “honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.” Your weekly or monthly income stream (your “produce”) may not be the only resource in your life to make a gift from. People often have valuable assets (your “substance”) beyond their income stream. By looking at all of your resources, not merely your income stream, you may discover assets or substance in your life which, if untied, can help you to give a far more substantial gift than you thought possible. Here are just a few examples of how people have looked at all of their resources as a source of generosity.
A retired family on fixed income could give only a limited amount per month. That same family could also give the lake house used so less frequently now that their children and grandchildren have grown and moved.
A collector donated part of his art collection
A mechanic donated his Harley
A songwriter gave the rights to a song she had written
A family gave some of the property that they had inherited
Another family gave stock gains that they had speculated on • A family gave part of the retirement they had saved
Why did such people give things that they enjoyed and owned that had real value to them? It is simple. The Lord had need of it. What they were giving to meant far more to them than what they were giving up. These people freed resources that were tied up in the substance of their lives. Untied, the “substance” which they had been blessed with could now be an even greater blessing as a gift. Like the owners in Luke’s gospel who provided Jesus with a way into the city of Jerusalem, these people had a donkey -- and the Lord had need of it. Maybe it is time to untie your donkey, to free some of your substance and bring it. The Lord has need of it.
Prayer: Lord, help me to see how much I have been blessed with in my life – and to see how things may bring a whole new sense of blessing as a gift.
Action item: Do an inventory of your “substance.” Are there assets in your life that you could untie to enlarge your giving?