Love... is Generous (part 2 of 2)

Generosity is, in my estimation, the greatest signal of love that anyone can show.  If love is the pursuit of another's best, generosity is necessary to exercise love. Generosity is the antithesis of self-interest and disdain.  Consider the words of Elder James again: 

"Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it?" (James 2:15-16, NIV).

Now let's add the Apostle John's call into our considerations: 

"This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.  If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?  Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth" (1 John 3:16-18, NIV).

If I am actively pursuing (not just passively wishing for) the best of a person, I must be willing to give something of myself to secure it.  Perhaps it will be a monetary gift, but just as likely it will be something else.  The deepest needs of humans are not met with money.  Of course, money helps people secure some things they need (food, shelter, water, clothing), but people have greater needs than just the basics of biological survival.  This is why the rich have no advantage over the poor when it comes to the call to love.  Generosity is not defined by a person's net worth, but by their eagerness to use whatever he/she has for the benefit of the other (see 2 Corinthians 8:12).  In fact, the Apostle Paul instructed Timothy to command the rich disciples in Ephesus to be "generous and willing to share" (1 Timothy 6:18) as they put their trust in God rather than wealth.  Those who are rich aren't more inclined to be generous than those who are poor; rather, those who are rich in love are more inclined to be generous than those who are poor in love.

The truth is, it is sometimes less generous to write a fat check than to take a few hours to spend time with a lonely person.  It can be less generous to write a check to support a ministry than to volunteer your time and energy to serve in that ministry.  If I choose to give one thing because it's easier or more comfortable than giving another, I must be willing to consider that I am not mature in my love.  I may be showing love, but it needs to grow up to be like the love of Jesus.

How did Jesus illustrate the love of God as He taught His disciples to love their enemies?  He pointed out how generous the Father is to His own enemies: "He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous" (Matthew 5:44, NIV).  How did He illustrate to Nicodemus how great God's love was for the world?  He told him that God gave His only Son (see John 3:16).  Paul reminded the Corinthians that Jesus was rich but became poor so that we who were poor might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9), and he reminded the husbands in Ephesus that Jesus loved His church by giving Himself for her (see Ephesians 5:25).

Ultimately, love means giving yourself for someone.  Your words, time, energies, attention, money, possessions and even thoughts (as you offer up prayers) can be generously lavished towards the best of another.  

Love is not focused on the cost to self, but on the benefit to its object. Consider this warning from the Wise Man found in the Proverbs:

"Do not eat the food of a begrudging host, do not crave his delicacies; 

for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. 

'Eat and drink,' he says to you, but his heart is not with you.
You will vomit up the little you have eaten

and will have wasted your compliments." (Proverbs 23:6-8, NIV)

Giving something is not generous if you're still focused on yourself and what it's costing you - if your heart is not with a person.  Love is centered on the best of the other and is eagerly willing to give what it can.

Love says, "You're worth it."  Love knows the cost but considers the cost to be worth paying if it will bring about what is best for the beloved.

How generous is your love, disciple?