Brenda Jones is a 69 year-old great-grandmother from Texas. She spent over a year on the donor wait list hoping for a new liver. And then the wonderful phone call came; they had a viable liver for her.

But just down the road a bit, a 23 year-old named Abigail Flores was struggling with a major health issue. Her need was urgent, the doctors suggested that she might only have one more day to live.

So they called Brenda back and asked her to give up her spot in line. The amazing part of the story is that Brenda did so without  a hesitation. She said, “In my heart, I wouldn’t have been able to live with the liver if I had let this little girl die.”

Praise the Lord, the story doesn’t end there. Brenda was placed on the list and a few days later she got her own new liver.

But think about the generosity of her response. Too often we use that term in the context of money, but a generous spirit encompasses so much more. The Bible tells us to look around and respond to the needs all around us.

Here is a direct instruction: “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him” (Lev. 25). Is there anyone in your small group or at church that needs some help? We need to be generous in our response.

Here is an amazing result: As the children of Israel were trying to construct the tabernacle, the people “brought more than enough for doing the work the Lord commanded” (Ex. 36)  More than enough…that is a generous response.

So maybe this week, you and I ought to turn up our radar a bit and scope out our immediate surroundings. Is there a neighbor struggling with an illness that needs some help with their yard? Is there a co-worker who just had a baby and could use some baby “stuff?”

Does someone in your family need a loan (at no interest)? Better yet, can we just give a gift that would help? As we do so, let’s keep in mind the ultimate recipient. Believers need to remember “Whoever is generous to the poor, lends to the Lord” (Prov. 19:17).

In his second epistle, Peter asks a key question: “What kind of people ought you to be?” There are a number of appropriate answers, but this week perhaps we all ought to shout, “We ought to be generous!”