Last week we laid the foundations, looking at the heart of being Grateful and Generous.
Over the next few weeks we will unpack three aspects of this value: Time, Service & Money.
Read Luke 10:38-42
What does Jesus value most highly in this story?
How is Jesus breaking down the barrier between the role of women (in the kitchen preparing the meal) and men (listening and learning a the rabbi's feet) in this moment? How does this fit with the bigger picture of Jesus's radical new set of values, what he called 'The Kingdom of God'? [1]
How is each sister relating to Jesus here?
Which sister do you most identify with, and why?
According to Jesus, which is better, and why? How do you feel about this?
Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
The key word in this passage, "love" (agape), can also be translated as generosity, charity or devotedness.
How does this passage sound if we substitute the word 'generosity' for 'love' here? (try it out!)
Is it possible to do all the things in verses 1-3 without generosity or love? What would that look like?
What does it look like to be generous with patience, kindness, etc? (look closely at verses 4-7)
Read Romans 12:9-16
This is another agape love passage.
John Stott outlines Paul's 8 components of love here:
Sincerity: "Love must be sincere"
Discernment: "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good."
Affection: "Be devoted to one another in love."
Honour: "Honor one another above yourselves."
Enthusiasm: "Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord."
Patience: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."
Generosity: "Share with the Lord's people who are in need."
Hospitality: "Practice hospitality"
Good will: "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse."
Sympathy: "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn."
Harmony: "Live in harmony with one another.
Humility: "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited."
Which of these are 'acts of service' (things you do for someone) and which are 'attitudes' (ways you should be toward someone)?
Which of these are your strengths? And which are your weaknesses?
Do you find that you are more of a be-er or a do-er?
How much time does it require to be loving and generous toward others in these ways?
What would it look like for you to give more time to others?
How do we use our time wisely in all this (balancing time for various people, including our selves)?
Make a plan for this week (with the help of your diary/calendar!) to pencil in generous time somewhere in your week (whatever time you can afford). If you are more a do-er than a be-er, then push yourself to spend time being with someone and not only doing acts of service.
[1] N. T. Wright explains the cultural context of this moment:
The public room was where the men would meet; the kitchen, and other quarters unseen by outsiders, belonged to the women... For a woman to settle down comfortably among the men was bordering on the scandalous. Who did she think she was? Only a shameless woman would behave in such a way. She should go back into the women’s quarters where she belonged. This wasn’t principally a matter of superiority and inferiority, though no doubt it was often perceived and articulated like that. It was a matter of what was thought of as the appropriate division between the two halves of humanity.
In the same way, to sit at the feet of a teacher was a decidedly male role... To sit at someone’s feet meant, quite simply, to be their student. And to sit at the feet of a rabbi was what you did if you wanted to be a rabbi yourself. There is no thought here of learning for learning’s sake. Mary has quietly taken her place as a would-be teacher and preacher of the kingdom of God.
Jesus affirms her right to do so.
N.T. Wright, Luke For Everyone, p132.
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