And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
“Charity is that with which no one is lost, and without which no one is saved.”
Robert Cardinal Bellarmine in A Dictionary of Quotes from the Saints, ed. Paul Thigpen (Charlotte: TAN Books, 2001) 28.
Today the NABLA retreat wraps up. God has kept us healthy and strong.
It’s been a rich time with about 25 stewards from leading churches and ministries from Cairo, Alexandria, the Delta region and Upper Egypt. Their humble hearts and receptive hands have received the teaching and tools we have shared to help the ministries they serve to follow standards. This will help build trust and grow local giving. It will also help make known God’s grace to a watching world.
I will be sure remind them that we must do all things with charity or grace.
This means we get to help those with whom they serve with patience and kindness. It means we get to dispense God’s generosity to everyone with whom we have contact. I find, back home and abroad, that nothing can touch charity, that is, grace, the unmerited favor, love, and generosity of Christ. It breaks down the tallest walls and bridges the widest gaps. Generosity, especially during Advent, must be about dispensing grace abundantly.
The best part is that everyone, regardless of their measure of financial wealth, can be generous with grace.
One way is to grow in this grace is practice giving. A pastor from the Delta region told me at dinner last night that since the generosity conference last December, God has poured out grace on his humble church. He said they’ve seen God supply nearly 2,000,000 EGP for an outreach center. They’ve discovered that as they give, God replenishes them. To hear more of God’s grace at work in the people at his church, click here.
This global work is possible through the gracious giving of people like you. I am praying for 50 new givers to GTP before year-end. Will you join the global giving team to help us spread charity? Make a gift today at gtp.org.