How does God call us to be generous?
He calls us through our gifts of our time, our talents, and our treasure.
Thankfully, God doesn’t ask us for more than He is willing to give. He is the ultimate granter of generosity. More than anything, God desires for us to be with Him and He longs for us to receive His abundant blessings.
In order to receive His gifts, however, we must be open and ready. And, that’s not always easy.
In Mark’s Gospel, we learn firsthand how difficult being open to receiving God’s gifts can be. A rich, young man approaches Jesus and explains that although he has much wealth, he feels something is missing. Jesus asks the man to give up everything and follow him. Unfortunately, the rich young man can’t do it. Even when Jesus assures him that in return he will gain treasure in Heaven, that glorious promise doesn’t change his mind.
Jesus is saddened by the young man’s response. He knows His Heavenly Father wants to fill the man’s emptiness, but He cannot do so unless the man opens his heart to receive the blessings. The young man doesn’t refuse Jesus’ offer because he is rich and materialistic. He refuses Jesus’ offer because he is too attached to his possessions and is afraid to let them go. Ultimately, he doesn’t trust that God will replace them with better treasures.
Often, we are just like the rich young man. We feel empty inside and want Christ to fill the void. But we can’t quite let go of our attachments to make room for Christ’s new blessings.
As stewards, we must empty ourselves of our attachments and turn to Christ so we are truly free to follow Him and receive all He wants to bestow on us. Jesus says that those who do will receive a hundred times more in return.
