“There are some [people] that give as the springs do: whether you go to them or not, they are always full; and your part is merely to put your dish under the ever-flowing stream. Others give just as a pump does where the well is dry, and the pump leaks.”
Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) American Congregationalist clergyman, in Forty Thousand Quotations, Prose and Poetical, compiled by Charles Noel Douglas (London: George G. Harrap & Company, 1917) 829.
As I reflect on generosity through the comments of famous preachers, I love this word picture: “give as the springs do.” They are conduits of clear, refreshing rivers of life to the world, abundantly and perpetually replenished by God.
The ECFA board meeting went well last night. I got reacquainted with old friends who “give as the springs do” and made new ones. This morning I am returning to Colorado. The fellowship here was sweet, but there’s no place like home!
Father in Heaven, thanks for the gift of another day to serve you, to enjoy our loved ones, and to “give as the springs do” wherever we go. May our generosity toward others give life to them and bring you glory. Do this by your Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus I pray. Amen.