My name is Aimee. For those of you who do not know me, I am a first-year student at LMU. I have attended PVBC since 3rd grade (around the last 11 years) and was baptized by Pastor Ken a little more than a year ago (February 2019). 

Going along with our 40-day “Reckless Faith” study, I was asked to reflect on reckless generosity and share a related faith story. While Harney’s book generally refers to reckless generosity in the financial, or “treasure”, sense, I’d also like to address reckless generosity in regards to giving of time and talents for God’s glory. 

Every time I think about my faith journey, the many people who have guided, encouraged, and been with me along the way come to mind. I would not know Jesus and certainly would not still be walking with God without them.

Each of these people gives of themselves sacrificially, generously, and recklessly for God’s kingdom. To give a few examples of their generosity which I have personally encountered… 

●     Writing “we missed you!” postcards to children who are absent from Sunday School 

●     Coming to Friday Night Fellowship every week, whether 2, 15, 5, or 0 youth come 

●     Getting to know every person’s name, what is important to them, and what is going on in their lives and checking up on them every week, letting them know they are cared for 

●     Mentoring other people and getting them involved in church projects 

●     Teaching people new skills as an outreach and fellowship ministry 

●     Loaning supplies and resources to students who express an interest in church service

●     Attending the games, concerts, recitals, shows, and graduations of youth and children, even on weekdays with work the next day 

●     Coming to church an hour early to help the worship team set up and prepare for the Sunday service (audio, slides, etc.) 

●     Attending additional meetings and volunteering to do additional work for the church 

●     Organizing the weekly refreshments for fellowship time and bringing snacks for everyone 

●     Staying late on Friday nights to practice for worship, even with a long drive home 

●     Preparing activities and messages for the Sunday School children 

●     Eating lunch with others to get to know them better and spend time in fellowship 

●     Texting/emailing/FaceTiming people mid-week to check in with them and let them know they are prayed for 

●     Serving as a worship leader until holding a guitar was physically impossible 

●     Staying late on Friday nights to counsel youth or teach them how to play an instrument for worship team

●     Hosting missionaries or allowing groups to hold retreats at their home 

●     Getting to church more than an hour early every Sunday to set up the tables and chairs we use for coffee connection time in the fellowship hall 

1 John 4:19 says, “We love because He first loved us.” I believe that this applies to generosity as well. We are generous because God is first generous to us. We encounter examples of Christ-like generosity from more mature Christians who shine Christ’s light for God’s glory, and we are able to emulate generosity from first being recipients. 

Nothing of this world belongs to us. Our time, talents, and treasure -- it all belongs to God. This becomes more and more apparent to me in the wake of Kobe Bryant’s untimely death (just 7 weeks ago) and amidst our current reality, Coronavirus. 

Harney asks what we can invest in that truly lasts forever. Jesus and salvation seem like the obvious answer. In the meantime, what can we do about this?

I believe we should invest in people. Yes, Clorox is up in the stock market right now and would probably make a good financial investment. But the eternal investment we can make now is in telling others the good news and truth about Jesus, glorifying God in community and fellowship, and caring for our brothers and sisters in Christ. 

Matthew 18:20 says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.” We cannot seek God on our own, and we cannot expect others to find Him by themselves either. 

Coronavirus is at the forefront of everyone’s minds today. Life as we know it is changing very quickly, and with the cancellation and closure of so many events and places/organizations comes the disruption of many communities. “Social distancing” is the current buzzword. However, just as so many aspects of Christianity are counter-cultural and “not of this world”, so should be our response. Even if we are not physically with one another, I pray that we do not “socially distance” ourselves and abandon our investment in one another. 

Why come to church more than an hour early to set up chairs? Why stay hours late to talk with youth? Why spend hours planning activities for Sunday School children who may ultimately walk away from God? It seems reckless to invest in people for God, when there is such high risk of getting no return. 

I was once one of those Sunday School children, and I still am a recipient of an immeasurable amount of reckless generosity. I personally see God and His love through the love I’ve received from the PVBC family. In investing in and loving one another, God’s love is shown, and He is glorified. 

It is difficult to maintain relationships with people when we do not see them on a regular basis. Research shows that emotional proximity can decline by 15% for every year that we do not see someone. 

So even though we may not see each other on Sundays for a while, let us continue to invest in one another. Let this not be a barrier to us showing reckless generosity to others. 

Thank you for your reckless generosity and for showing God’s love. Praying for your health and safety during this time.

Aimee