“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” —Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

“Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, ‘Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’ ‘Why do you ask me about what is good?’ Jesus replied. ‘There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.’ ‘Which ones?’ he inquired. Jesus replied, ‘“You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,” and “love your neighbor as yourself.”’ ‘All these I have kept,’ the young man said. ‘What do I still lack?’ Jesus answered, ‘If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’ When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, ‘Who then can be saved?’ Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ Peter answered Him, ‘We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.’” —Matthew 19.16-30

“Some people have suggested that the saying about the camel going through the eye of a needle is actually a reference to a gate in Jerusalem that was called ‘the needle’s eye.’ A camel would need to unload all it was carrying on its back to get through it. Other people have pointed out that a word very similar to ‘camel’ meant a sort of rope; maybe He was talking of threading a sailor’s rope through a seamstress’s needle. But both of these suggestions miss the point. As we have seen in this chapter and the previous ones, Jesus often exaggerates hugely to make His point. It’s like saying, ‘You couldn’t get a Rolls-Royce into a matchbox.’ The point is not that you might achieve it if you tried very hard, or that there was a particular type of small garage called a ‘matchbox;’ the point is precisely that it’s unthinkable. That’s the moment when all human calculations and possibilities stop, and God’s new possibilities start. What is impossible in human terms, Jesus’s followers are to discover to their amazement, is possible to God.” —N.T. Wright, Matthew for Everyone

“Sometimes our personal agendas or assumptions divert us from what God is saying in a Biblical passage. For example, in Luke 12.33, Jesus said, ‘Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.’ We will often read a verse like that and say, ‘Okay, obviously God is not asking me to literally sell my possessions and give to the needy. This passage must mean

.’ Really? Because it sure seems that Jesus is saying that these disciples should literally sell their possessions and give to the needy. In fact, looking at the context of Jesus’s teaching and ministry only strengthens the literal meaning of that passage. Based on the rest of the book of Luke, this is exactly the sort of thing that Jesus would call His followers to do.

The fact that Jesus called His disciples to sell some possessions at that moment in history does not necessarily mean that every Christian has to sell every possession at all times, but the point is that our own agendas can keep us from even considering such a thing. If Jesus called His disciples to sell some of their stuff and use that money to meet the needs of the poor, shouldn’t we be open to His calling us to do the same thing today?” – Francis Chan, Multiply: Disciples Making Disciples

Money has a

hold on our hearts.

The practice of sacrificial generosity is

in the need of the

Reveal Answer

to

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, not the need of the Church to receive.

“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” —Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 6:9-10

Generosity is not about what God wants

you; generosity is about what God wants

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you.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” —John 3:16

Generosity Pathway

“Then Abram gave Him a tenth of everything.” —Genesis 14.20b

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.’” —Malachi 3.10

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.” —Jesus, Matthew 23.23

If you want to

, then you must be willing to

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.

The Way General Fund Giving

The Way’s Generosity Potential

If Jesus invites me to do something, and I decide not to do it, it’s not Jesus who misses out.

.

St. Peter’s Basilica:

Everyone who refuses to be

with what God has entrusted to them follows in the footsteps of the rich young ruler and misses out on the

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of God’s plan for their life.

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” —1st Timothy 6:17-19

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” —Jesus, Acts 20:35