To love is to give. To give us to love.
As Bob Goff says, “Love does.”
Love And Giving
The Hebrew word for “love” is “Ahava.” Its also the word for, “I give.”
To give is to love. To love is to give.
“By this we know love, that He (Jesus) laid down his life for us…” (1 John 3:16)
4 Ways Love Gives Year Round
1. Benevolence
What happens when you’re a single parent to five children and you lose your job? Generous people step up to help pay for re-training and keep food on the table and a roof over your head.
What happens when you’re pregnant, your husband breaks his leg, you give birth prematurely, your baby requires a long hospital stay and you have no transportation? People step up to make you meals, and drive you to the hospital to be with your new born.
North Pointe’s crisis care ministry led by Trish Benson steps in when the rest of the world steps out.
Better than anything else, giving says “love.”
2. Village of Hope
For thirteen years now people from North Pointe have been sponsoring HIV/AIDS orphans in Harare, Zimbabwe. Homes, a medical clinic, a K-12 School, a farm and a community center have been built as a way of sharing the love of Jesus through generosity.
Those donations make everyday feel like Christmas in the life of a child.
The kids say, “Thank you for loving us!”
3. Rainbows Ministry
Death. Divorce. Despair. In the life of a child these circumstances are devastating.
Over the past ten years at North Pointe we have helped more than 300 families with elementary-aged children, who have experienced death or divorce in their family, through our Rainbows support group.
Rainbows is offered free to families. The trained volunteers give their time, skill and care in offering hope and healing.
Our volunteers are awesome!
Thank you for lovingly serving.
4. Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree
I serve on the Board of The Edmonton Singing Christmas Tree Foundation. 1000’s of hours are given each year by hundreds of volunteers to present the Singing Christmas Tree.
Our Foundation donates all of the net proceeds to local charities, organizations and children in need. In addition to working with established local and global non-profits, the Foundation also supports individual causes throughout Edmonton as a way of bringing Christmas year round to children in need through gifts, food and music education.
To date, over $750,000 has been given to charities such as the Edmonton Food Bank, and Santas Anonymous.
We have also partnered with World Vision to raise awareness of how generosity can make a big difference in the lives of children.
Generosity’s Voice
Giving and generosity empower even the most quiet among us, with a voice.
Giving makes sense – “It is more blessed to give than receive.” (Proverbs 11:24)
The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
Generosity changes everything.
APPLICATION: What examples of generous giving have you seen? Please leave your comment below.
I write to inspire people to be real, grow an authentic faith in Jesus, enjoy healthy relationships and discover their life purpose. If this material is helpful to you, please follow me.
- Subscribe. I’ll put helpful content into your email box on Mondays and Thursdays, as well as upcoming events at North Pointe Community Church, Edmonton, Alberta.
- Follow on Twitter. I daily tweet info I think you’ll be interested in.
- Friend on Facebook. If you “like” my page, let me know you found me here.
- Connect on Linkedin. I like this because it reminds me what people think I’m good at.
