Jesus said to him, ‘If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’
Let’s review our takeaways from the Scripture verses this week: giving to others promises a future reward, that reward is necessary to survive, our generosity is fueled by faith, generosity requires sacrifice, and generosity is our purpose. Any questions that we have are answered by this verse from Matthew. To receive our treasure in heaven, we must make ourselves like Jesus. The act of giving is important for the poor, but it might be more important for the giver because it conditions our hearts to be more like Him. Our reward is unity with Jesus! He lived his life as a model for us. Jesus owned nothing, but instead concerned Himself with aiding those in need. His generosity required the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus is the common denominator in all of our takeaways.
Giving to others promises a future reward: unity with Jesus! (1 Corinthians 6:17)
Our reward is necessary to survive: “No one comes through the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
Our generosity is fueled by faith: Jesus will provide. (Matthew 6:31)
Generosity requires sacrifice: remember the example of Jesus! (John 3:16)
Generosity is our purpose: “Care for the widow and orphan.” (The whole Bible!)
