God loves to show off! In 2005 Helen and I returned to Australia for a season for the birth of our first son. We had returned a couple of times before for short visits and had on both occasions been loaned cars so that we could get around.
Now don’t get me wrong, I was and still am very appreciative for the loans of these cars but they were both very old and very unroadworthy. By that I mean cars where the indicators or Speedo or seat belts were broken. So I would do some running repairs. Again I will say that we were very blessed by the provision of these cars. (One of them given by a student who went without a car for the months that we borrowed his.)
It is just that with our most recent trip back God obviously wanted to show off. This time around before we even arrived some good friends offered for us to loan their Audi.
Now Audi being German and Helen and I being sent to Europe, we thought that that sounded pretty good. We knew it would have air-conditioning which in an Aussie Summer with a new baby is a necessity! What blew us away about this offer was that when we arrived they gave us their best car, not an old spare, but the newest one that they had.
While that was incredibly generous it gets even better. After a few months their situation changed and they had need of the car back, so they asked us to check and see if there were any other options for us to have another car. When nothing came up I didn’t want to inconvenience these guys they had been so generous to us, so I was considering buying a car to take the pressure of everyone. That of course would make it very complicated when we again left the country, and it would have been taking things into my own hands when God had clearly told us He would take care of our needs.
Well talk about generosity that makes you embarrassed! Our friends solution to the situation was to ‘buy another car’. So rather than leave us in the lurch they went and bought another car! This is just evidence to Helen and I of the wonderful generosity and love of God’s people.
Another couple told us that when if it was difficult for us to find a place to stay when we first arrived and our son’s arrival was imminent, they would consider moving out (including their two kids) to make their house available for us.
Never underestimate the power of generosity, even the offer of it. God aches to be known for His goodness and love. The love and capacity of the saints is a wonderful reflection of God!