Discipleship Life

Have you ever had extra money? I have. I remember getting $100 dollars that I was not expecting at all. I felt like a new world of possibilities had just opened for me. Perhaps this does not sound like a lot of money to you, however, I was a poor college student, so it was quite an event for me. I soon started to think how I was going to spend it. First (I reasoned) I must treat myself to a nice meal in a nice restaurant. Second, I must place that bid on Ebay on this auction I have been keeping an eye on. I also would like to buy a nice shirt, and then blow the rest this weekend at the movies and coffee at Starbucks. Sure enough, in a matter of days I was out of my extra $100 dollars and feeling happy about having had such opportunity. A few days later it hit me, I not even once thought about God in this whole planning on how to spend my extra money. I did not consider it a blessing at the time, and did not think that this may have happened for a specific purpose.
A few years later, while in graduate school, I received a letter from a friend who was sending me $200. He told me that he had run into some extra cash and had heard that I was a student and wanted to help me out. An helped me out he did. The money came at a time in where I was desperately in need of a miracle, I had just bought my books for school and was out of money. I still needed to buy gas and complete rent so I felt blessed beyond measure. I immediately thought about the time I ran into extra cash and how I decided to spend it.
I felt terrible that I did not pray about what to do and did not consider why this had happened. I thought that I could have blessed someone just like I had been blessed. However, my own interests were at play.
I know, I was selfish. From that point on I decided to ask God to give me a generous heart. Not only that, to help be more aware of the world around me. Many times we are wanting God to use us and fail to identify areas through which he can do that.
I know that the financial area is part of this as a college student. It is true, that college students don’t have a lot of money, however, the little or much you have can be used to bless others in the name of God. Proverbs 11:25 reminds us that, a generous person will prosper, he who refreshes others will be refreshed.”
I have experienced using my money for a lot of extra things that I don’t need. I have also experienced giving money to people in need. I can tell you that the refreshment and freedom that comes in your life when you practice generosity in God’s name and out of love for him changes you and changes the world around you. Money will come and go, the world and its desires will pass away, but whoever does the will of God will live forever. 1 John 2:17