Today I’m going to talk about generosity, and where the urge comes from to be giving, big-hearted people.

Why do we share what we have? What motivates us? Where (and how) does this behavior take root so that it becomes a permanent habit? In a nutshell, what’s the “genesis” of generosity?

All of those are questions I’ve pondered in the last week or two.

First, before answering, I’ve got a confession.

The reading we just heard scares me. It’s a story I’m reluctant to live in… a vision of life with God that, quite honestly, I’d rather not claim for myself.

Our boys have grown, finished college, moved to other cities. Sarah and I don’t need all the stuff we’ve got in our house. In fact, we’ve talked about things we could do without: some furniture (definitely), books (eh, maybe), and toys (depending on if and when we might ever be grandparents).

Still, with the fall rummage sale just two weeks away offering a good chance to simplify, I’m reluctant to sell all my possessions and give everything away.

Yet I don’t want to walk away from Jesus, like the rich man. And I don’t want to ignore what Jesus said. You don’t want me to, either, I bet. Which means, we’re all in this together – all of us, between a rock and a hard place. Caught between a gospel demand and a desire to make life comfortable on our own terms.

“How hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!” Jesus was right.

You know, he uses that phrase three times in today’s passage. Was anyone counting? Twice he says it’s hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. But he also makes one blanket statement, with no mention of net worth. He just says, “Children [all of you], how hard it is to enter the kingdom.” 

 All-inclusive. No one is let off the hook. Rich or poor, disciple or skeptic – we’re all caught. That’s scary.

So “who can be saved?” (The disciples’ voices must’ve cracked as they asked the question. They were scared too.)

Imagine their eyes, big as saucers, when Jesus says, “Yeah, it’s impossible. For mortals.”

… Or your own eyes, if a big lumpy camel walked into the sanctuary right now. The odds of that happening, Jesus says, are about as slim as the chance of us saving ourselves.

Then again, maybe I’m selling you short. Maybe the scripture passage isn’t daunting to you, and you are ready to give everything away. In which case: come on up here!

Hebrews 4 is right: The word of God is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” It pierces our pretensions and cuts to the heart and threatens our life and lifestyle. It is scary. We’re not eager to have the scriptures pointed at us.

But I want to say thank you. Because if one (or all) of you walked up here to give everything away after I said I wasn’t ready to do it myself … I’d feel pretty stupid. I’m glad you stayed seated!

Besides, it confirms what Jesus said next, namely that what is impossible for mortals, like you and me, is possible with God. “For God, all things are possible.”

So what makes generosity possible? If generosity is a kingdom behavior (as I believe it is), if it’s an attribute of those who live in God’s realm now, where does it stem from?

From love. That’s my answer. Not from our love of others, but from God’s love of us. What allows us to enter God’s kingdom and live generous lives now … is the conviction that we are loved.

The text doesn’t quite come out and say it that way. But it gives a remarkable clue. Before saying that Jesus told the rich man to go, and sell, and give everything away, it says Jesus looked at him … and “loved him.”

In fact, that’s the only time in Mark when we hear that Jesus “loved” someone. The only time! That’s why I said it’s such a remarkable clue.

Jesus loved the person who was about to walk away from him. Loved the one who was about to reject his message. Loved the one who had trouble being generous.

What incredible love! What godly and inclusive love Jesus had for that man!

It’s enough to convince me that generosity is always built on a foundation of love. Before asking for anything from the man, Jesus first loved him.

The ability to live generously doesn’t come from within us. It is not self-motivated, nor is it a matter of personal choice. It is a response.

Generosity springs from the ground of knowing that I’m cherished and accepted (and we are cherished and accepted), regardless of failings, faults, foibles and flaws. It takes root in a trust that I am valued for more than my possessions, that I am safe and secure from permanent harm or condemnation… and in faith that God has claimed my life not for woe but for well-being.

Whatever generosity I achieve has its origin not in me, or in any surplus I can spare for the offering plate or beggar’s cup, but in the grace and goodness of God – who created me, birthed me, blessed me (in baptism), guided me, and who will be with me for the length of my days … and beyond.

Surely that is what allowed Jesus to give himself … on the cross. Apart from God’s love for him, I wonder, could he have done that?

So I did a quick review of the word “love” in the Bible, trying to isolate a few reminders that this same love is available to us.

I started with John 3:16, “For God so loved the world as to send the only Son, so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Then, in almost the same nanosecond, my mind leaped to 1 John 3 – “See what love God has given us, that we should be called ‘Children of God.’ And so we are.”

Before I knew it, I was pondering 1 Corinthians 13, the famous passage often used at weddings,

Love is patient. Love is kind.

Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude …

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

I used to think that was all about human love. But years ago I realized it’s about God’s love. For us. Out of all the gifts God gives us (faith, hope, and love), “the greatest is love.”

The genesis of generosity and Christian stewardship on the whole rests in the affirmation … that we are loved. By God. Through Jesus Christ.

The great Old Testament Hebrew word for love is hesed. (Listen to the strength of that word!) Hesed refers to steadfast and reliable love. Infinite love. Love you can depend on. Love like Jesus had for the rich man. Love that does not waver. Love that never ends.

Of course, that same man in today’s Gospel is proof that even with God’s love in Jesus Christ, some will walk away dejected and sad rather than newly generous and glad.

None of us is perfectly generous, even when we know we are perfectly loved. But to not know, not trust, not accept or believe we are loved surely jeopardizes our efforts to be generous all the more.

In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that any giving not motivated by love amounts to extortion, coercion, or an attempt to “buy” love we yearn for. It’s not true generosity. (See 2 Cor. 9:7)

We all know a man somewhere who struggles to know that he is accepted, and that the mistakes of his past are forgiven; a man who has yet to accept the good news of God’s love for him.

We all know a woman who fights addictions and self-destructive behaviors brought on by self-doubts, or who tries to be super-mom at home and an overachiever at work, since she has no other way to trust that she is loved.

And we know children, some of whom are far beyond childhood in years, but who remain trapped as children in spirit, out of fear that they never measured up to parental expectations, or a sibling’s success. So they don’t feel loved either.

In some of those persons, some of us recognize ourselves.

Nevertheless, my message today is that YOU ARE LOVED. God’s word is that you are loved.

Jesus loved the rich man who was about to walk away from him. So chances are high that Jesus also loves you. Odds are virtually 100% in your favor that “nothing in all creation can ever separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Nothing at all. Not for me or you or him or her or us or them.

In recent weeks we’ve heard testimonials by church members telling us “Why I Give to Wau­watosa Presbyterian.” What has struck me every time is the realization that these personal accounts and stories all revolve around a core conviction by the person speaking, that he or she feels loved and accepted here (along with family and neighbors and friends) – with needs met, hopes revived, opportunities encouraged and his or her humanity welcomed (in all of its glorious imperfection).

Their generosity to this church stems from knowing beyond doubt that they are loved. By you and me. And by God.

In the coming weeks, as you think about your stewardship commitment to this church for 2010, and your generosity toward others, don’t just about the dollars and cents … but think about love. God’s love. For you.

Then imagine what “love so amazing” can do. In response. Always …