Uncommon Generosity
Jesus is just different. It’s no surprise in some ways because this is what it means to be holy - set apart, uncommon, different from everything else. In fact, his holiness is the lens through which we need to see every other aspect of his character. His love is a holy love. His kindness is a holy kindness. His mercy is a holy mercy. He is just different.
Therefore, when we realise that he calls and enables us to be holy (1 Peter 1:15-16), we can be sure that it is a calling to be different. It means the barometer of how we’re doing is not an earthly measure. It means the things our culture celebrates are not necessarily the things we should strive for. It means that even in the church, our ultimate comparator cannot even be another Christian. We’re to be holy as he is holy.
Recently we talked about generosity in the early church that meant there were no needy people. The risk is that we feel good about how generous we are in comparison to others. But remember, our only true comparator is him.
Jesus told his disciples to love their enemies, pray for them and be generous with them (Luke 6:35-36). Have you ever contemplated being generous with the boss who despises you, the neighbour that annoys you or the bus driver who was rude to you? I think if we took generosity to those lengths, it would feel really weird and unnatural. It would stand out to others as something really uncommon. It would be different. And that sounds a lot like Jesus.
May we be people who stand out for generosity of a different kind so we become a people who truly reflect him. What is a different step of generosity Jesus may be leading you in today?
Much love,
Simon
This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>