A Disciple’s Generous Response

 

Our sharing, in the context of our discipleship,  is in response to the gift of God’s love for every person.

We share our witness of Jesus Christ and our resources. Sharing with others acknowledges that all we have and are is a gift from God to us. Sharing our witness tells others what Jesus Christ and the church mean to us.

Receiving First

Part of our witness as disciples is sharing the news of God’s great generosity. God provides “enough and to spare” (Doctrine and Covenants 101:2f). God shares in abundance, “good measure, pressed down…shaken together, and running over.” All that we have and all that we are is a priceless gift to us from God.

What then is our response as disciples of Jesus Christ? In simple terms, we respond with thankfulness and share with others as generously as God has shared with us.

Scripture guides us in our discipleship: “Stewardship is the response of my people to the ministry of my Son and is required alike of all those who seek to build the kingdom” (Doctrine and Covenants 147:5a). All things were created by God and are to be used for God’s purposes. As disciples of Christ, we explore the scriptures to understand our stewardship of time, giftedness, and financial resources in response to God’s grace and love expressed to us in the life of Jesus Christ. Our stewardship is

  • a personal response to God’s grace and love;
  • a means to meet the needs of a growing church; and
  • a way to provide more fully and joyfully for Christ-like service and ministry, locally and globally.

The following six principles of A Disciple’s Generous Response guide us in living out our stewardship of resources:

  1. A disciple practices generosity as a spiritual discipline in response to God’s grace and love.
  2. A disciple is faithful in response to Christ’s ministry.
  3. A disciple’s financial response, while unique to individual circumstances, expresses love of God, neighbor, creation, and oneself.
  4. A disciple shares generously through tithing so that others may experience God’s generosity.
  5. A disciple saves wisely in order to create a better tomorrow for self, family, the church’s mission, and the world.
  6. A disciple spends responsibly as a commitment to live in health and harmony with God and the world.

Live as a Generous Disciple

Generosity is one of the ways we can both honor our heritage and our call to live as prophetic people who help shape the future God has envisioned for all creation. A Disciple’s Generous Response is a whole life commitment we choose to make in response to God’s wonderful generosity. We express our gratitude to God with each breath of life we take as we share generously, save wisely, and spend responsibly. Understanding our stewardship at the personal, congregational, and denominational levels will bless us spiritually and grow us as a community, so that we can respond more fully and joyfully for the great work to which [we] are called. and engaged (Doctrine and Covenants 154:5b).