Just because.

Have you ever gotten a "just because" gift. A gift that came, not because it was your birthday or Mother's Day or because you had done something for someone, but just because someone wanted you to have it? Those are my favorite kind of gifts!

I got one of those just the other day. I had gone shopping at a bookstore with a friend. As we were walking to the car, she turned to me and said, "I got you something," and handed me this super cute bookmark that now holds my place in one of my most favorite books ever. 

That little bookmark made my day! And it still makes me smile every time I look at it. She didn't have to get me a gift that day. It wasn't any sort of special occasion. She got it for me because she loves me. That's what makes it so special.

I was reading in Acts about the early church and came across a passage I had heard many times before. Acts 4:32-35 says,

³² All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. ³³ With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all ³⁴ that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales ³⁵ and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.

I've heard that passage used so many times to tell us that we "should" be generous with our possessions and that we "should" give to the church and to the needy. But, look at the wording of the passage again. Never in those scriptures do I see the word "should". These early believers did give of what they had. They shared their possessions and took care of the needs of those around them. But it wasn't obligation that motivated them. 

The scripture says they were "one in heart and mind." They were united. They cared for one another. Their motivation to give was love. Isn't this the example God gives us to give? 

John 3:16 tells us,

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

God gave His Son, not out of obligation; He gave out of His great love for us. It was one of those "just because" gifts that mean so much.

I want to be like that! When I give-whether money, gifts, or time-I want to be motivated by love. I want to give "just because" He has given so much to me.