Astonishing Generosity

Have you ever responded like this when someone asks you to make a commitment: “It’s just a busy season right now.” Or, perhaps: “I would love to do something like that when I have a little more margin.” Sound familiar? At our church, one of our values is that generosity is normal. We don’t say that with a caveat like, “generosity is normal when you’re young and single and don’t have a mortgage or kids.” Or “generosity is normal when you’re at the peak of your career,” or “generosity is normal when you’re retired.” We just say, “Generosity is normal.” We believe generosity is our worshipful response to the extravagant grace and glory of God. It’s our response to who Jesus is and what He has done for us. For us, generosity is normal in every season of life.

Priscilla and Aquila were a husband and wife in the New Testament with a tent-making business. We hear about Priscilla and Aquila from the apostle Paul, who was also a tentmaker by trade. Priscilla and Aquila loved God, and when they heard the message of salvation from Paul, they were forever changed. They chose to respond by opening up their lives, their home, and their business to come alongside Paul and help build the early church. Paul lived with them, worked with them, and led a church that met in their home. Priscilla and Aquila were astonishingly generous in their season of life.

In every season of life, there is an invitation to be astonishingly generous with what you have to offer uniquely in that season. What it looks like to be generous also may change from season to season. From one stage of life to the next, you may have more or less time and energy, more or less capacity to build relationships, more or less confidence in your giftings, or more or less material resources to steward. 

But how would Jesus have you be generous in this season of life? Have you been waiting until it would be easier to be generous? Maybe you’re waiting until you’ve graduated, until you’re established at your new job, or until you’re married and settled into a new rhythm. Perhaps you’re waiting until the kids are older, until you get that promotion, until you’ve moved into that new home, until your child has graduated, until you’ve retired…until, until, until. Scripture tells us that life is but a vapor (James 4:14). Do we wait to be astonishingly generous, or do we want to ask Jesus how he would have us leverage our current moment of life with what we have to offer right here, right now? 

What if Priscilla and Aquila had said, “You know, this time of year is peak tentmaking. We love Paul, and he has a powerful message, but we’re sure someone else is in a better place than us to step up to.” Of course, God would have provided for Paul. But Priscilla and Aquilla would have missed out on being a beautiful thread in the magnificent tapestry of the gospel story. In a similar way, God invites us into His story because He loves us so that He wants us to experience the blessing of astonishing generosity. Priscilla and Aquila could have looked at their moment of life and just passed the buck. But with it, they would have passed on having a front row seat to the birth of the early church. They would have missed out on being church builders and friends with Paul. They would have missed those late-night conversations, those hot days bent over their tents together, and the hours spent praying and talking together about how they could point more people to Jesus.

What a beautiful, simple story of ordinary people offering to God what they had in that moment, in that season of their lives. And because of Prisicilla and Aquila’s astonishing generosity and openhandedness with their season of life, they were included in the Holy and eternal Word of God.

As we wrap up this week of soaking in what it means to live a lifestyle of astonishing generosity, let’s consider what we can learn from Priscilla and Aquila. Let’s consider how they shared from their exact season of life and moment in time. They were generous with their time and energy, their giftings as tentmakers, the gift of showing up in relationship, and with their resources. 

What season of life are you in? What is unique about your current life rhythms in this stage? In what area of your life is it time to no longer delay, but to take a step of astonishing generosity, right where Jesus has you? 

Jesus, help me have eyes to see what step of astonishing generosity you would have me take not someday, but today, in this season of life? Give me your lens on my time, energy, giftings, relationships, resources, and season of life. Help me to see what I’m clutching too tightly and where I can open up my hands in offering to you, trusting you to hold my hand and lead me every step of the way.