Giving

Readings:
Psalm 1
II Corinthians 8:1-15

Focus:
II Corinthians 8:12: "If we give eagerly according to our means, that is acceptable to God; he does not ask for what we do not have."

One of our responsibilities is to give to those in need. We give money and we give time helping them.

But unless we feel a special calling to do this, we don't have to give so much that we impoverish ourselves in turn. Instead, we give a proportion of what we have. That is what God asks for. He asks that we give enough that we truly are giving--a dollar here and there is hardly a gift, unless we are destitute--but he does not ask that we give what we do not have.

It is our hearts that God wants. When our hearts belong to him, then we give in response to his love. And we will find that we will give out of the overflowing of our love.