The Leftovers
Just like many of you I have a garage sale or two every summer. It’s almost an American tradition. The heat comes, days get longer and the garage sales start poppin’.
I love it because it allows me to clean out my garage, get rid of some junk and make a few bucks to hit up Chick Fil A for lunch. After every garage sale, and just before lunch, I load up what I couldn’t sell and head to the Salvation Army to donate my unsold fodder.
That’s the generous thing to do, right? Or is it?
Want to know a secret? I have driven to the Salvation Army many times in my life and I have never left there feeling like a generous man. Not once!
Do you want to know why? It’s because I was only giving away my leftovers. It cost me nothing. It was no sacrifice on my part to give away what I was most likely going to throw away.
True generosity is a sacrifice. It costs us something. That’s why God tells us to “not forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” (Hebrews 13:16)
It’s the principle of giving more than we receive.
Jesus demonstrated this for us just before he went to the cross when he said “no one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.” (John 10:18) And sacrifice it he did totally, utterly and completely.
He gave everything that day. He literally paid it all! And not for himself he did it for you and for me. He paid the debt of our sin that we couldn’t even dream of paying. That’s true generosity.
Are you giving more than you receive? That means we live a life of generosity, not leftovers. Give people your best. Give God your best. He deserves nothing less.
In him,
Pastor Zac
I love it because it allows me to clean out my garage, get rid of some junk and make a few bucks to hit up Chick Fil A for lunch. After every garage sale, and just before lunch, I load up what I couldn’t sell and head to the Salvation Army to donate my unsold fodder.
That’s the generous thing to do, right? Or is it?
Want to know a secret? I have driven to the Salvation Army many times in my life and I have never left there feeling like a generous man. Not once!
Do you want to know why? It’s because I was only giving away my leftovers. It cost me nothing. It was no sacrifice on my part to give away what I was most likely going to throw away.
True generosity is a sacrifice. It costs us something. That’s why God tells us to “not forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God.” (Hebrews 13:16)
It’s the principle of giving more than we receive.
Jesus demonstrated this for us just before he went to the cross when he said “no one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily.” (John 10:18) And sacrifice it he did totally, utterly and completely.
He gave everything that day. He literally paid it all! And not for himself he did it for you and for me. He paid the debt of our sin that we couldn’t even dream of paying. That’s true generosity.
Are you giving more than you receive? That means we live a life of generosity, not leftovers. Give people your best. Give God your best. He deserves nothing less.
In him,
Pastor Zac
Pastor Zac is the lead pastor of Fusion Christian Church in Temecula, Ca
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2 Comments
Thank you for that powerful Word from the Lord to ALWAYS give our best to God first and also God's people.
Thank you for this reality check, Pastor Zac. Keeping you and your family in my prayers.