A Generous Heart 一颗慷慨的心
Dexu Xia
Do not forget to do good and to share with others. Hebrews 13:16
Today's Scripture Hebrews 13:15-21
Today's Insights The letter to the Hebrews is anonymous. This, however, hasn’t prevented centuries of scholarly speculation as to the identity of the author, which includes Paul, Luke, Apollos, as well as Barnabas, Priscilla, Silas, and Philip the evangelist. While human authorship can be debated, the divine authorship of the Holy Spirit is unquestioned. The audience for the letter was Jewish believers who’d been through great hardship and were in danger of abandoning their faith in Jesus the Messiah due to their struggles. This letter encourages them to keep on believing and trusting in God, with a series of warnings to that effect (2:1-3; 3:7–4:11; 6:4-6; 12:25-26). To encourage them, the author sets out to show the superiority of Jesus over everything—angels, Moses, Joshua, the priesthood, the sacrificial system, and more. And not only is He superior; He’s also the model of true sacrifice and generosity. As we practice generosity, we reflect His heart
Today's Devotional When soccer star Sadio Mané from Senegal was playing for Liverpool in the English Premier League, he was one of the world’s highest-paid African players, making millions of dollars per year. Fans spotted a picture of Mané carrying an iPhone with a cracked screen and joked about him using the damaged device. His response was unflustered. "Why would I want ten Ferraris, twenty diamond watches, and two jet planes?” he asked. “I starved, I worked in the fields, played barefoot, and didn't go to school. Now I can help people. I prefer to build schools and give poor people food or clothing. . . . [Give] some of what life has given me." Mané knew how selfish it would be to hoard all his prosperity when so many of his neighbors back home struggled under crushing conditions. Hebrews reminds us that this generous way of life is for all of us, not only for those who are wealthy. “Do not forget to do good and to share with others,” the writer says, “for with such sacrifices God is pleased” (13:16). Nurturing a generous heart isn’t only the right thing to do, but according to Scripture, generosity also makes God smile. Who doesn’t want to make God pleased?
Generosity isn’t defined simply by how much we give. Instead, generosity refers to the posture of our heart. One thing we can do that’s “pleasing to [God]” (v. 21) is to simply open our hands and share what we have.
Reflect & Pray How have you shown generosity? What helps you cultivate a generous heart?
Dear God, thank You for the generous heart You’ve shown me. Please help me to be generous too.
By Winn Collier
“不要忘记行善和施舍”。希伯来书 13:16
今日经文： 希伯来书 13:15-21
今日心得： 希伯来书的作者没有具名。然而，这并没有阻止学者们几个世纪以来对其作者身份的猜测，其中包括保罗、路加、亚波罗，以及巴拿巴、百基拉、西拉和传道者腓利。虽然作者的身份尚有争议，但圣灵的神圣作者身份却是毋庸置疑的。这封信的读者是那些经历了巨大苦难，并因这些挣扎而濒临放弃对弥赛亚耶稣信仰的犹太信徒。这封信鼓励他们继续相信，并信靠上帝，并提出了一系列相关的警告（2:1-3；3:7-4:11；6:4-6；12:25-26）。为了鼓励他们，作者着重表明耶稣超越一切，超越天使、摩西、约书亚、祭司、献祭制度等等。祂不仅超越一切，更是真正牺牲和慷慨的典范。当我们实践慷慨时，我们便反映出基督的心意。
今日灵修：塞内加尔足球明星萨迪奥·马内效力于英超利物浦队时，他是世界上收入最高的非洲球员之一，年薪4千万美元。球迷们看到马内拿着屏幕破裂的iPhone的照片，便拿他使用破损的iPhone开玩笑。马内平静地回应道：“我为什么要十辆法拉利、二十块钻石手表和两架喷气式飞机？”“我曾经挨饿，在田里干活，赤脚玩耍，没上过学。现在我可以帮助别人了。我更愿意建学校，给穷人提供食物或衣服……[奉献]一些生活给予我的东西。”
马内知道，当家乡的许多邻居都在艰难的条件下挣扎时，把自己所有的财富都囤积起来是多么自私。
《希伯来书》提醒我们，这种慷慨的生活方式是为所有人而设的，而不仅仅是富人。作者说：“不可忘记行善和施舍，因为这样的祭是神所喜悦的。”（13:16） 培养一颗慷慨的心不仅是正确的做法，而且根据圣经，慷慨也会让上帝微笑。谁不想让上帝高兴呢？
慷慨的定义不仅仅在于我们给出去多少。相反，慷慨指的是我们内心的姿态。我们可以做的一件“蒙[上帝]喜悦”的事（21节）就是张开双手，分享我们所拥有的。
反思与祷告 你是如何展现慷慨的？什么帮助你培养一颗慷慨的心？ 亲爱的上帝，感谢你向我展现了慷慨的心。祈求主帮助，使我也变得慷慨。
作者：温·科利尔