Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17
“When we give a gift, it’s not really about the person on the receiving end of the gift. Rather, it’s about the person staring at us in the mirror. God is funny like that.”
Travis Shelton in “The Opportunity to Say Yes” blog post.
This quote comes from a dear friend at the conclusion of a great story. Read it. This excerpt is the punchline. It had so much punch, that I am sharing it with the world today.
Generosity is not about those we give to, but rather, it’s about how God is at work in us, growing us. We don’t serve a deficient God who needs our money. We need to give it.
And I like his statement that “God is funny like that.” Travis grasps the paradoxical nature of generosity. The world teaches us to look at the opposite of what God looks at.
The world looks at what we give and the impact it has. God looks at what we hold back and what it says about our hearts. God is funny like that.
God wants giving to shape us in to His image and likeness. When this happens we reflect the generosity of the Giver who gave us everything that we have.
The more we say yes to opportunities to grow in the grace of giving the more people will see the Giver when we look in the mirror.
What do you see today? Ponder this the next time you see a mirror.