Living Generously for Jesus' Sake

Generosity is a word that has come more and more into use in recent years to describe Christian giving-but more, Christian living. Go to a dictionary and seek definitions for "generous" or "generosity," and you'll likely find words like "openhanded," "magnanimous," "noble," "kindly," "giving freely," and even "liberal" (in a non-political sense). How well do the definitions for "generous" or "generosity" fit God's purpose for God's people? Because of Jesus and for Jesus' sake, Christians can live generously in every area of their lives, more as givers than as takers, with the knowledge that they do not need to live in a guarded manner but in a free and open manner. Why? God himself will guard them.Remember, the God we worship and serve is a God of gracious care, whose nature is to give generously. The generous nature of our God can be seen beginning with creation. Further, God's generous nature can be seen supremely in what God has done for us in Christ. As the most well-known verse in the Bible states, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16, NASB). With such a God of generous grace caring for us and guarding us, how can we not be generous ourselves with our lives and all we have? We can live generously because of Jesus and for Jesus' sake. That is how we were meant to live. This 13-lesson Bible study explores and calls for that kind of life.