God Loves a Cheerful Giver

All we have is God’s gift to us. All we become is our gift to God.

Do we truly understand and believe this? All we have is God’s gift to us. All that we have in life is a gift from God and how we handle these gifts is our offering back to Him.

Of course, we may have worked hard to achieve certain things in our lives, yet who has given us our intellect and charisma? Who has given us our health and well-being? Who has given us the countless opportunities we have in life, many of which are predetermined and have nothing to do with us – where we are born, into what family we are raised, what schooling and opportunities we have?

For example, what have we done to deserve being born in America, or being born into the particular family that raised us and instilled in us from a young age our worldview? What did we do to deserve the many people who have influenced us throughout our lives – from teachers to mentors to friends and colleagues – all who have helped us grow in our lives? What have we done to receive the treasure of faith that has been passed down throughout the centuries and given to us?

We have received countless blessings from others, and if we are humble enough to understand, all these blessings have started with what God has bestowed upon us.

All we have is God’s gift to us.

Yet, all we become is our gift back to God.

What are we becoming? What is our life all about? What is the purpose and direction of our life? Is our life a self-centered one, focusing on my own desires and pleasures? Is life mainly about ME?

Our Lord Jesus says that if we want to follow Him - and only in following Him will we discover the true meaning of life - we must deny ourselves, sacrifice our own desires, for something greater than ourselves. We must not make ourselves the center of our lives, but put something else, Someone else, at the center. Our Creator, the Lord Almighty, must sit at the throne in the center of our life. Thus, life is not mainly about ME but about my Lord and my God.

One of the most important ways to cultivate this worldview where Christ is at the center is by imitating Him in our lives, by allow His Spirit to inspire us, guide us, and dwell in the center of our lives.

Remember, al we have is God’s gift to us. God is the Great and First Giver in our lives! And his blessings are endless. He is the Great Generous Giver.

When we strive to imitate Him, we must imitate His generous giving spirit!

Saint Paul addresses this in today's epistle, when he asks us what do we do with our blessings? What type of "giver" are we? Do we share sparingly or bountifully? When we give, do we give with a generous and joyful spirit or do we give in a reluctant way, under compulsion? Do we truly understand that all we have is God's and we are but stewards or caretakers of these gifts? Do we act as good and faithful stewards, joyfully and generously sharing with others?

God is a cheerful and generous Giver and Saint Paul highlights that God loves when we imitate His Spirit of giving, when we become cheerful givers ourselves. Always remember, no matter how much we give of ourselves, how much we give away of our many blessings, we can never outgive what God has first given us!

All we have is God's gift to us. All we do with these gifts is our gift back to God.

Saint Paul teaches us to be cheerful and generous in our giving! The spirit of giving is not an obligation or a requirement as a faithful follower of Christ. Instead of seeing this as some duty, we must understand that it is simply a natural response to understanding the blessings God has given us. When we cultivate the mind of Christ within our own being, then we naturally imitate our Lord in who He is.

God is the Most Generous Giver of Life, the Bestower of All Blessings.

Can we take the time to reflect today on whether and how we imitate this Giving Spirit in our lives? How do we act as good and faithful stewards with our blessings and do we give generously and joyfully – offering back to God first to His Church and offering back to God through giving to those with less than us all around us.

All we have is God's gift to us. All we do with these gifts is our gift back to God.