Life through Generosity

A generous person will prosper;
whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11:25

Refreshing others through generosity

We are called as people of God to take God's blessing and use it to refresh others. We are called to be like a river that allows the blessing of God to flow through us to the nations. The sin of Israel is that they stopped the blessing of God at themselves. They stopped being 'blessed to be a blessing', and became broken cisterns that contained the water of God for themselves; a marsh that let the water of the river of God to go stale. Let’s look at these two images to see what we can learn about living a life of generosity that allows the river of God’s blessing to flow through us.

A fountain of life, not a broken cistern

For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13

This is an incredible description of two ways to live your life; we are looking at it today in relation to your generosity to others. Jeremiah presents the life that is a fountain of living water or the life that is a cistern and a broken one at that.

A fountain of living water refers to a source of fresh, flowing water. Such a source was always available and did not dry up during months without rain. An example is a deep well providing water from an underground river. A cistern, on the other hand, was a manmade object used to store rainwater. They were needed when a fountain of living water was unavailable. The problem with a cistern is that the water is not fresh. In addition, cisterns would break, and the stored water would seep out and be lost. Such cisterns were completely useless.

And the Lord will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
Isaiah 58:11

We are called to be a spring of water that does not fail, one that provides help and life to all around us, whether the world is in drought or desert.

A river, not a marsh

The Bible talks about the river of God in Ezekiel 47, this time bringing fresh water to the salty marshlands. We are called to take God's living water and blessing in our lives and let it flow, but we don’t hold it to ourselves like the warning in Ezekiel. Don’t contain the living water of God’s blessing, and let it become a stinky marsh. Let it flow!

The blessings and fruits of your life are for you and your family, but that is not all. We are called to be 'blessed to be a blessing,' to let the river of God’s blessings flow through us to the community around us and beyond. Everything in God’s kingdom is for us and to go through us.

Prayer: Father, I thank you that you have called my spiritual life to be a river, not a marsh. I don’t contain all the blessings of God to myself; I let them overflow to others. I ask, Lord, that you would give me the heart to be generous and the wisdom to be a blessing to my neighbours and family.

We hope that this devotional has encouraged you to share what you have received with others around you. You never know what is waiting on the other side of stepping out in faith as you witness, pray, and share freely what you have received in Christ.