Living Your Will Part 1

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“A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:25

John Wesley was a very wealthy man of his day, yet he chose to live a very modest life on as little as possible so that he might give as much as possible to the poor and outcasts of society in Christ’s name.  He would, undoubtedly, not have understood or tolerated the attitudes expressed today by the bumper sticker often pasted on the back of a large RV traveling down the highway—the one that says, “I’m Spending My Kids’ Inheritance”.

The idea of spending one’s personal, hard-earned assets on someone else is not a popular or comfortable topic of discussion at any age, but especially for those who worked hard to enjoy “retirement”. While generosity does not involve material assets alone, sadly these are the things that most often entangle us and detract us from living generous lives.  The issue is whether we trust God when He tells us that a truly full and refreshed life is a generous life dedicated to blessing others, and that not only are those who receive our generosity blessed, but so are we.

FANNING THE FLAME
I want to invite you to join me on a 30-Day Spiritual Adventure in which we take up the challenge as grandparents, parents and older adults to see all our assets as something God has given to us to spend, invest and distribute for the blessing and refreshment of others while we are still living.  Begin with your own families if you want, but extend your circle to those outside your family as well.  Starting with our material assets, we will ask God everyday to show us how He would have us use those assets generously to bless others rather than spending them on ourselves (except for necessities).  In the weeks that follow, we’ll look at non-material assets as well.  I’ll ask some of you to report back after our journey together and share what God has done in you and through you.

GRANDPAUSE: “People go through three conversions: their head, their heart and their pocketbooks.  Unfortunately, not all at the same time.”  — Martin Luther

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