1 Fish, 2 Fish

"For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have." 2 Corinthians 8:12 NIV

God asks us to be generous with what we have, but often we get so caught up with what we do not have that we don't give willingly. We start only giving out of compulsion or moral obligation because we are too busy focusing on what we need or want. Or, we don't give joyfully because we don't think we have enough to give. I understand this because I am now paying for school and putting my money toward other bills. There is little money left over to put to the side for other expenses or causes.
      I have wanted to sponsor a child for a long time. Last month, God put it on my heart again. I prayed on it because I was well aware of what I did not have. While I have a job, I have not gotten scholarships for school and so I pay my tuition out of pocket. I really don't have money to spare. Still, though, I really felt like He had brought that desire back for a reason, so I prayed about it. I received conformation days later that I knew wasn't coming from me because even though I wanted to do it, I didn't think it was the right time. It didn't seem practical.
      That night I sponsored a child. I love my little girl so much already and have been checking my mail impatiently waiting for my first letter from her. I read the brochure I had gotten about her community and recall the facts I had been given about her often. While I am happy with my sponsorship, I have begun to feel the need to do more. I felt discouraged because I didn't think I was doing enough. I wanted to do more for her and her community than give her a measly $30 a month. While I know it's a sacrifice for me, when compared to her livelihood, I didn't believe it was worth very much. One day, though, I learned how much I was actually doing.
      A couple of weeks ago, I plugged in the amount she gets from me into a currency converter and found out that 30 US dollars is worth 550 dollars in her currency (Ethiopian birrs). I was so shocked. I WAS making a huge impact! It humbled me. I cried as I thanked God for showing me this because He taught me something very important: we can do so much with what "little" we have.
      We take our "little" for granted and often throw it away on unimportant things because we think it won't make a difference. But we can do a great deal with it! God has a way of multiplying what we have in order to bless others.
      Second Corinthians 9:11 says, "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
      I used to think that that just meant God would give me more money to give to others. I now see that it can also mean that God will extend whatever we give to others to be able to meet their needs richly. When Jesus fed the 5,000, God didn't first give the boy who offered up what he had thousands of loaves and fish to share with the crowd. Instead of simply giving the boy more so he could share, God made what he did share to be more than enough to meet the people's needs (John 6:9-13).
      We need to stop giving based off our own reasoning of what will make a difference. We must allow God to stretch our $1 or our 50 cents. He is able to multiply whatever we give in faith, obedience, and love in order to meet people's needs. This is why giving to the kingdom is an investment. The yield is more than what we initially gave.
      I want to do more with my life and truly make a difference. This change in perspective is just the first step in that. It is helping me get more for my money and not take what I have to offer for granted. I encourage you to ask God what kingdom investment you can make (whether that be in the financial area or any other area of your life). Allow Him to turn your "little" into enough to feed the hungry (physically, spiritually, emotionally, etc.).