Pathways Press.com

Written by John Michalak, a contemporary pastor, author, and speaker. This is an excerpt from his book “365 Devotions to Embrace What Matters Most.”

The Source of all things is also the Owner of all things. There’s a pleasure in giving what you have to someone in need that is unlike the pleasure of ownership. You place your money in the Salvation Amy tin. You volunteer to serve dinner to the homeless. You see the look in a poor child’s eyes when you hand them a box covered in colorful wrapping. But your whole life is actually a gift. God gave you life and you are His. God so loved that He gave. Whether it’s your money, your talents, or your time, the more you walk in gratitude for what’s been given to you and the more you realize that what you have was never really yours in the first place, the more you’ll offer everything you have to those in need. God has provided you with the means to give. And it’s in the giving that you’ll receive.

Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. [Deuteronomy 15:10]