Read 2 Corinthians 9:1-7
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver” (v. 7).
Last Sunday night after service, a five-year-old girl trotted over to where I had been sitting and thrust a wadded-up piece of paper toward me. “What do you have?” I asked.
She did not say anything. She just smiled. I straightened out the paper and discovered it was a sheet from a coloring book. The edge was ragged from where it had been not-so-expertly torn from the book. The color choices were pretty, but it looked like the artist had struggled with things like direction and keeping inside the lines. But somehow, that beautiful lit-tle smiling face above the imperfect artwork changed my view. I thanked her profusely for such a fine gift and promised it would find a prominent place on my refrigerator.
My young friend could have thrown that wad of paper away. She could have decided it was not as good as her older sister's artwork and therefore did not deserve to be shown to anyone. She could have given it to me with a frown on her face. She might have even kept it for herself and never shared her work with anyone else. Instead, she did her best, chose a friend, and gave cheerfully.
Sometimes, the cheerfully part is all I feel I can do. It is awfully easy to look at the talented folks around me and decide the world is better off with-out my contribution. But then I remember that with God as my Father, I am sure to have at least one proud supporter. After all, who knows? Maybe that silly picture of mine, when proudly displayed on His fridge, can be a witness or encouragement to someone else. (Michelle Avery)

Let us give what we have and trust God to bless it abundantly!

This devotional is the Thursday, February 9, 2017 entry of Opening the Word.