Whether the situation that arises tugs at my heart or Cam's we will end up having a fairly similar discussion...

2 Corinthians 9.6-15

Reference:  v. 7  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (NIV Bible)

Explore:  Cam (my husband) and I have a number of charities and overseas aide organisations that we give to regularly.  While our sponsor children allow us to give on a regular basis there are often other one-off opportunities that come up to allow us to give over and above our regular giving.  Whether the situation that arises tugs at my heart or Cam's we will end up having a fairly similar discussion.  I will ask Cam how much money he thinks we should give and then he asks me what amount I had in mind.  Sometimes we are both on the same page, other times we need to have a further discussion and come to a compromise.  Cam says that he usually knows what my amount will be because he thinks of a figure and then halves it and that's usually pretty close!  Whatever the final figure is, we always end up giving something.

Application:  It seems that giving generously is a bit of a recurring theme in chapters 8 and 9 for the Corinthians in their second letter.  This is no surprise.  We need to be reminded repeatedly that it is important, if not essential to our faith, to give and to be generous.  If we claim to be Christians and desire to live our lives like Christ then generosity is a key part of that lifestyle.

Prayer:  Holy Spirit, move our hearts to give.  Open our eyes to the need and inspire us into action.  Amen.

When have you felt a prompting in your heart to give to someone?