The Home of Generosity | Romans 12:9-13
How many of you struggle with loneliness? We live in a world of loneliness. Crushing loneliness is maybe one of the worst things that a person can endure. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, loneliness seems to spike. According to the Survey Center on American life, the percentage of Americans who say that they have no close friends has quadrupled since 1990. 54% of Americans report that sometimes or always feeling that no one knows them well. 40% of Americans have 0 close friends or confidants. We are living in a mental health crisis because people in as the secular worldview now dominates our culture, people are living without meaning or purpose. A secular, humanistic worldview says there is no God and therefore, there is really nothing to live for and it leads to a crisis. All around us, there are people who are in pain. But our Christian worldview, tells us that there is a God and our purpose in life is in worship and enjoy Him forever. Everything we have is a gift from Him and we are to live our lives for Him. Jesus came to make those who were strangers and enemies, neighbors and family. Chronic loneliness should never be a part of the Christian life.
Paul is moving from specific spiritual gifts given to individual believers to general gifts or virtues given to all believers. These are characteristics of everyone who calls themselves a follower of Christ and who have a transformed mind. Paul gives 13 commands in 5 verses, or about 15 seconds worth of reading, that takes a lifetime and the power of the Holy Spirit to obey. Generosity is the overflow of grace in my life based on the generosity of Jesus. We have looked at the heart, the head and the hands, now we are going to go deeper and look at the home of generosity. One of the best ways to live generously is by practicing hospitality towards others based on the hospitality of Jesus towards us.