by Elkhart Campus Pastor Gene Troyer

“I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance (Ephesians 1:18).”

When I am generous with my time, my treasure and my talent, my focus becomes “other” centered. It opens the eyes of my heart and I find myself looking for Jesus around every corner, under every rock, in the eyes of the face in front of me. Perhaps I’ll find him there, perhaps I won’t.

But in the graveled mixture of life’s pebbles and rocks and the boulders that I can’t move, The Everlasting encourages me to breathe in, breathe out. To live with open hands and an open heart trusting that:

“The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies, You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever (Psalm 23, NLT).”

And then this quote from Dr. Jon Morrissette in reference to the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:

“Just as faith is never about what we say, so love is never about what we say. The substance of faith, the substance of love, the substance of mercy, is generosity! Love is tangible. It’s the bandages, the oil and wine, the donkey, the inn, the caregiving, the two silver coins, the instructions to the innkeeper, and the extra expense. Words are cheap. Generosity is costly.”

Generosity acts, it risks, it involves itself, it gives of itself, and it follows through. The good Samaritan was good because he was generous—financially, personally, and sacrificially generous. This is what Jesus commended—not love in the abstract, but the Samaritan’s hard-core, tangible, costly acts of generosity.