Giving Tuesday
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with a word about “Giving Tuesday.”
You know the idea of being “better together” isn’t just a catchy phrase. It’s a reality anytime like-hearted people partner together for a common purpose. It’s the whole idea behind Giving Tuesday. Because once you wrap up the Thanksgiving holiday with your family, Giving Tuesday is a chance to extend gratefulness towards others, especially those who have very little. And boy do we have good reason to want to give. Deuteronomy Chapter 8, verse 18 says, “Remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” And elsewhere in Haggai Chapter 2, it says, “’The silver is mine and gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.” So, what’s in your wallet? Well, whatever is in your billfold, it is all from the Lord because it is the Lord’s. It’s like what we often sing at church after the offering is collected: “All things come of thee, O Lord, and of Thine own, have we given Thee.” It’s why I love these words by Keith Getty. Listen to what he once wrote,
“A rich young man came to ask of Christ: ‘Good teacher, will you tell me, what must I do for eternal life? I’ve kept your laws completely.’ ‘Sell all you have, give to the poor, then heaven’s treasure will be yours. How hard for those who are rich on earth to gain the wealth of heaven.’
“Now Jesus sat by the offering gate as people brought their money—the rich, they filled the collection plate; the widow gave a penny. Now she’s outgiven all the rest; her gift was all that she possessed. It’s not what you give, but what you keep—that’s what the King is counting.
“O teach me Lord to walk this road, the road of simple living; to be content with what I own and generous in giving. And when I cling to what I have, please wrest it quickly from my grasp; I’d rather lose all things of earth to gain the things of heaven.”
That’s a wonderful lyric to the song “Simple Life” and you might want to listen to that on YouTube. You know, generosity is one of the most fundamental attributes of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave.” If we want to be like the Lord, then a giving spirit should be a big part of our Christian character. So, on this Giving Tuesday, before the crazy holiday season starts, think about others who don’t have the resources that we have: like kids with disabilities in developing nations who can’t go to school because they don’t have a wheelchair. These kids just want a shot at life like their friends, and Giving Tuesday is your chance to make a huge difference in their lives.
First Timothy Chapter 6, verses 18-19 it says, “… be rich in good deeds, and be generous and willing to share. In this way, you will lay up treasure for yourself as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that you may take hold of the life that is truly life.” So on this Giving Tuesday I want to thank you for being rich in good deeds, for being generous and willing to share the love of Christ, maybe with a special needs family! So give a wheelchair to a disabled child, would you? If all of us chip in on Giving Tuesday, “better together” won’t be a catchy phrase. It will be a life-changing reality in the life of a kid with a disability. Just go to our Joni and Friends Facebook page today and join me and my husband Ken on Giving Tuesday! As you do, oh my goodness, I “give” you thanks, generously so! Again, visit our Joni and Friends Facebook page for all the details on this Giving Tuesday. Thanks for listening today on Joni and Friends.
© Joni and Friends
