Daily Devotional for February 19, 2021
A Generous Heart
“Are you two having fun?” William’s aunt asked in between the fizzing and popping of the fireworks at their church’s Funday Festival.
“Yes!” William and his new friend Petros exclaimed together.
“Another half hour before we need to go home,” Aunt Rebecca reminded them.
Petros and his family had only been in the country for a month, and William was showing his friend around the booths. Everyone from church had contributed something to sell to help raise funds for their church’s mission program. There were toys, cakes, books, games, and many other things. Petros’s dad was a trained chef, and his tasty food was proving to be very popular.
“Let’s hurry. I want to buy some puzzles,” William said, dashing off with Petros.
William bought a handful of books, some homemade marmalade for Aunt Rebecca, and some puzzles for himself. “Aren’t you buying anything, Petros?” he asked, his hands bulging with his purchases.
“I’m looking,” Petros replied quietly.
“Five minutes, boys,” Aunt Rebecca said when she spotted them again.
Petros dashed off. He returned with three blueberry muffins and handed them to William’s aunt.
“Thank you,” said Aunt Rebecca. “That’s so thoughtful. We’ll share them when we get home.”
Later, after eating the muffins at Aunt Rebecca’s, Petros’s dad came to pick him up.
“I can’t believe Petros did that!” William said after Petros had left. “He went to the festival knowing it was a fundraising event, and all he bought were those muffins.”
“Petros was very generous,” Aunt Rebecca said.
“What makes you say that? He hardly bought anything.”
“Petros’s dad has been struggling to find work since they got here. Petros had very little money and yet he spent all he had on muffins to share with us.”
William flushed, thinking of the money he had left over after buying lots of things for himself. “He was like the widow Jesus spoke about in the Bible, wasn’t he? The one who gave all she had to the Lord.” He sighed. “I’m sorry I judged him.”
“It’s okay,” Aunt Rebecca said. “You made a mistake. You only saw what you wanted to see, but God saw his generous heart.”
“Can I invite Petros over tomorrow so we can play some of the games I bought?”
“Great idea,” said Aunt Rebecca. • Cindy Lee
How about you?
Have you ever felt embarrassed because you couldn’t give as much as you’d like? Jesus assures us that the amount we give isn’t what matters, but that it comes from the heart. When we generously give out of love for Him and thankfulness for all He’s done for us, He will use our gift for His glory and to bring others to Him.
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