Generosity is a value that pleases God. In Hebrews 13:16, the passage is telling us that God blesses us continuously so that we have something to share with others.
We always have something to share — it may be material things that we no longer need or use, it may be food that is more than what our body needs for sustenance, or it may be ourselves or our personal time by being present to those who are lonely or anxious.
This passage is also reminding us that generosity is a choice. Every single day on Earth, we always have the chance to become generous with people who have been carefully placed in our world for us to be with.
This reminds me of the message of Brother Bo from The Feast family, who said that one of our major tasks in our lives is to make one part of the Lord’s Prayer “Thy Kingdom come… on Earth as it is in Heaven” come to reality.
We are here on Earth to help someone feel a piece of Heaven through our actions — by helping them, by supporting them, by loving them— like how it is in Heaven. “Thy Kingdom come on Earth” through me, through generosity, through love.
I have seen generosity in my life in so many ways. I remember when Emman and I were at our lowest point, we barely had the income to keep us going with our finances. Plus, I got pregnant while being in between jobs. I remember budgeting our meagre income and making sure that every single penny is accounted for.
Through the generosity of family and friends, we were able to get by. We never got hungry. Friends showered our baby with gifts and money. God’s goodness, through the generous people around us, truly surfaced during our time of need. Grace after grace came. Endless gratitude for all of them!
Now, God has been blessing us abundantly with financial blessings and a happy and healthy life. I want to share these gifts with the people in need, too.
Through this passage, God is challenging me to choose to become generous not only with my loved-ones, but also to people whom I randomly see every day. After all, generosity is an act that we can choose to do with every opportunity that comes our way.
Finally, Hebrews 13:16 is telling us that when we choose to sacrifice and become generous with others, God is pleased with us.
This does not mean that we only help to earn a place in Heaven by pleasing God. No, certainly not.
But by knowing that what we do in here pleases God, we become more at peace that we are fulfilling God’s purpose of making us instruments of God’s love and mercy and compassion through tiny generous acts that we do.
May we be blessed continuously today and every single day!


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