Yesterday in our services we were exploring the topic of generosity. During the service one of our team was telling a story from their week, a week where they had moved house. They described sitting in their kitchen amongst all the boxes they had packed for the move. It felt like their life was on their floor – pictures, memories, possessions etc. In the middle of this they described how they felt the presence of Jesus descend and He started to remind them how he’d been there in each memory. They were so moved by this moment that they started to worship right there in the kitchen, singing;

“Oh, how I love you Jesus, you are my greatest joy. Oh, how I love you Jesus, oh my soul rejoice.”

In the service they prayed for everyone and in the midst of their prayer they said this line;

“Lord, we don’t want full hands and an empty heart.”

That is so true. Too often we want to fill our world with stuff, we want to accumulate. Now, just before you think I’m about to head off in a different direction here, there is nothing wrong in having stuff in and of itself. The danger comes when we use that stuff to fill a hole that we have in life. This will only lead to disaster.

Full hands + Empty heart = Disaster

I want to ensure that whatever my future looks like that my heart is always fuller than my hands. I don’t want to have more resource than I have faith. I never want my labour to outstrip my love

“Oh, how I love you Jesus, you are my greatest joy. Oh, how I love you Jesus, oh my soul rejoice.”