Generosity

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." Gen. 1:1

I have never been impressed with the generosity of accidents in my life. The failure of accidents to treat me generously is one of the primary reasons I am not an evolutionist. During my brief 58 years on this planet I have not benefited at all from accidents. They have taken much more than they have given.

Even though accidents have taken from me more than they have given, many would have me believe an accident of cosmic proportions provided me with breakfast this morning. I don’t think so. Breakfast was too good!

For some reason, I have been reflecting recently on the incredible generosity of the earth. Perhaps it has been all the travel to different parts of the world or perhaps it was the French pastries in Paris. Whatever the reason, it seems as if I am seeing the earth’s generosity for the first time. What a generous place this earth is. I am impressed and satisfied.

Unlike mankind that is selfish and purposefully takes things away from those in need, the earth remains the constant provider of food as long as we cooperate with the earth’s delicate balance and cycles. Is earth’s constant generosity on purpose just like man’s evil is on purpose? I think so. It is no accident.

I live near the city Sao Paulo that nearly 19 million people call home. In that city there are hundreds of thousands of children who have never been on a farm to personally see the generosity of a cow, a chicken or a row of corn. These kids grow up thinking meat, eggs and corn come from the generosity of the supermarket or the government. How sad!

Many years ago I remember seeing a book entitled “How Much Prayer Does A Hamburger Deserve? It was a book about religious rituals that we perform without thinking. I loved the title so much I almost stopped praying before meals.

About the same time I saw the book about prayer and hamburgers, praying before meals had gotten very ritualistic at the Bible college I attended. In an effort to combat the routine prayers, my friends and I actually developed a number system to pray in the college cafeteria.

Instead of repeating the same words over and over again as we usually did three meals a day, we just had prayers 1 through 5. We figured that God had heard us say the same thing so many times He would know our prayer by the number. As you can tell, there was much room for spiritual growth in me and my friends. God is generous with his patience.

Since I have recently noticed the generosity of the earth, I am thinking about writing a little book entitled “How Much Thanks Does A Generous God and a Generous Earth Deserve?” I am praying before meals in an entirely new way these days. The number system left even before I left Bible college and today I truly think a hamburger deserves a lot of thanks. I have noticed the generosity of the earth and I am thankful it is no accident.

The next time you sit down to a meal just pause for a moment and see the generosity of God’s earth in front of you. Trust me, it will taste even better.

And don’t forget. Jesus in you is the bread of life 24/7 and moment by moment. Enjoy His constant generosity!