From Sticky Souls to Transformed Hearts
God’s command—from the glorious clouds overshadowing the Transfiguration of Jesus in the gospels—reminds us: when we listen and do whatever the Son of God says he will lead us from barrenness due to selfish living into righteous fruit-producing living for the glory of God. Self cannot satisfy self. We must hunger for God.
This is basically our journey for Lent, because sinful attitudes and actions try to stick to our souls and destroy our Life with God. Jesus wants us to produce righteous fruit that bring glory to our King’s rule and reign.
A Call to Repentance: “That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. —Joel 2:12 NLT
Day 13: Fasting Ungenerosity
Love does not keep score; love is generous. The Bible defines generosity as ‘an attitude of sharing gladly whatever we might have regardless of wealth.’ God desires to nurture an attitude of generosity within believers; no selfish stinginess allowed. I know a lot of generous people; in fact, it is difficult to get the upper hand regarding generosity when I am with them! lol! However, there is no one more generous than the Lord; he gives the most priceless gifts and they come down from heaven so they are pure (Ja 1:17). Jesus loves lavishly and fully; he wants to bless us with spiritual vitality and abundance. In fact, he gave us the gift of enteral life at great suffering to himself in order to be with us. He is the epitome of generosity.
Today, we will fast ungenerosity because Jesus is so generous and we are being made in his perfect image. There is no room for stinginess in the posture of believing hearts. Believers should be the most generous people on earth, because we have been made recipients of amazing grace. Generosity involves a lot more than money. Our generosity may involve gestures of love, kindness, compassion, patience, making peace with others, or believing the best of others. Generosity calls for greater humility. A generous spirit is beautiful and pleasing before the Lord (2 Cor 9:7).
Obviously, Jesus loved spending time eating with his family, friends [both new and old], and disciples. He was generous with his time and found pleasure around the dinner table where he shared life with others. I love the lesson from John about how Jesus moved on from Jericho where he enjoyed dinner with Zacchaeus to find himself at another dinner table in Bethany—the home of Simon the Leper. John tells us a woman, Mary, breaks a precious alabaster box filled with expensive perfumed oil and anoints Jesus’ feet (Jo 12:3). Judas has a problem with this woman’s expression of generosity. He sees this gesture as a “waste.” Judas is simply self-seeking, inwardly calculating, and greedy. Mary knows she has been a recipient of the priceless things of heaven and there is nothing she prizes more than the Lord. Loving the Lord with our whole being and loving others is what we do as believers.
John 14:23-31 NLT
23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. 24 Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me. 25 I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. 26 But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. 28 Remember what I told you: I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really loved me, you would be happy that I am going to the Father, who is greater than I am. 29 I have told you these things before they happen so that when they do happen, you will believe.
30 “I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me, 31 but I will do what the Father requires of me, so that the world will know that I love the Father. Come, let’s be going.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for modeling pure generosity for us; you do love us lavishly and thoroughly. In fact, you love us enough that you are unwilling to leave us in our sin and inclination to be stingy and self-serving. Instead, you have thought of everything necessary to help us with the transformation process. You help us trust in your promises to provide for us to be generous. Today, we feast on pure generosity; may we be generous with others in every possible way. In Jesus’ name. Amen.