Elevated Friday, November 30th, 2018

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of giving that embodies the spirit of God completely. We all remember the massive $1.6 billion lotto jackpot a few weeks ago. One group of nurses from Mercy Children’s Hospital in Missouri pooled their money to buy a bunch of tickets. While they didn’t win the jackpot, they did win a $10,000 consolation prize! However, rather than divvy it up evenly amongst themselves, as most would do, they looked to who in their hospital could really use the money. They ended up giving half the money to a nurse who had just lost her son to suicide to cover the funeral costs. The other half they gave to a neonatologist who had been struggling to make ends meet after her husband was diagnosed with sarcoma earlier that year. That neonatologist just that morning had been stressing over how she would pay for certain medical expenses. The gifts were a complete blessing at just the right time and reflect the true spirit of Jesus.

We are all blessed with very much every day. We are often happy to share food, clothing, or shelter if necessary with others who need it. But when we are blessed with a windfall of money – whether from the lottery, bonus at work, or otherwise – for some reason that can be the hardest thing to give away. We can be sure that each of those nurses had something that money could have helped them with. But Jesus made it clear that when we are blessed with much, we must bless others with much as well. In Ephesians, it says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” Being an imitator of God means sacrificing what we hold dear for the betterment of others – just as He did with Jesus. Today and in this season of giving, be generous with your blessings and share them with others.

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.” – Ephesians 5:1 ESV

Original Article:

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