When we think about giving, we often focus on what we have to offer. What can I do? What can I give? Do I even have enough to make a difference? Well, God never asked one person to do everything. He invites all of us to be part of what He Is doing. A domino chain works when each domino is in the right place so that they all play a part in the chain reaction. Every domino matters. 

The church works like that too. God has given each of us different things we can use for Him. What we have may seem small when we only look at our one part, but God can take what each person gives and use it together to do something much bigger than any one of us could do alone. 

This actually happened in the bible in the book of Acts. The very first church was formed and the followers of Jesus stopped thinking only about what was theirs and started generously using what God had given them to care for one another. 

Some people sold things they owned and used the money to help people who were in need. Others opened their homes so people had a place to gather and worship. They shared their food and ate meals together. When they saw someone who needed help, they looked at what God had given them and asked, "How can I use what I have to help?"

They worked together to generously care for God's people and build His church. But they weren't generous so God would love them more. They were generous because God had already been generous to them. They experienced the good news of Jesus and God was changing their hearts, and what He was doing inside of them began to show on the outside. Their love for God overflowed into the way they treated people.

That's what an abounding life looks like. God generously gives to us, He changes our hearts, and then His goodness overflows through us to others. The Bible tells us something really important about the kind of heart God wants us to have when we give. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, "God loves a cheerful giver." 

A cheerful giver isn't someone who gives because they have to or because they're trying to impress God. A cheerful giver can give with joy because they remember how generous God has already been to them.