Running Toward Generosity

Last Saturday we held a shower for our daughter Jocelyn and her fiancé Jeff. They will be married in October and my aged mother will not be able to attend. So, the shower was held at Grandma's residence in Kingston so that she could be included. We had a playful wedding and the ice cream cake was cut with the knife used at my parents' reception.

The couple specified no shower gifts. They have owned a home and lived together for six years, so the usual practical gifts of a shower aren't necessary. Instead Jocelyn requested sponsorship for her ten kilometre Terry Fox run the next day. She completed the run in less than an hour and raised just over $1,000 for cancer research. Needless to say, we're proud of her choice, and what she achieved for a worthwhile cause. She is a kind and thoughtful young woman, but I am a little biased.

It got me thinking about the themes of simplicity and generosity which are central to our Christian faith. Jocelyn isn't a regular churchgoer these days, but she grew up in a Christian home and Christian values are still important to her. Jocelyn's choice is a reminder that care for others is not the exclusive domain of those who gather regularly for worship, or of Christians generally, or of those of any one faith.

What does happen when we worship is that we share a message of God's extravagant love in Christ which will spill over from our grateful hearts into the lives of others. We hope that we pass that message on to subsequent generations.

 If there isn't evidence of that selflessness in our lives we haven't been paying attention to the gospel. We may not all run toward generosity but we pray that we are moving in that direction on Sundays and all through the week.