Generosity as Formation

You know the story (or at least you can imagine it). Someone teaches on how Scripture calls us to be generous, an urgent financial need is presented--the "Big Ask"--a certain percentage of the group contributes financially to the cause, a need is met and everyone walks away unchanged, no more filled with love for God or others from having given. While it's certainly appropriate for followers of Jesus with a passion for a cause to invite others to give generously (see 2 Corinthians 9), I wonder if framing generosity primarily in terms of meeting needs falls short of Jesus' purposes for generosity. What if Jesus' way of generosity was not only about meeting needs, but also about who we are becoming? What if he is inviting us to consider how our relationship with our resources today is shaping who we become tomorrow? What if God cares so much about our eternal joy and His eternal glory that his invitation to live generously is actually about shaping us into the woman or man we were always meant to be? Join us this Sunday as we continue our teaching series on Generosity by learning from Matthew 6:19-21 on Generosity as Formation.