Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver (New Testament | 2 Corinthians 9:7).
It was early on a Saturday morning, and only my one-year-old and I were up (the rest of the family was sleeping in). I gave him some juice, changed his diaper, and we danced together to the music in the front room.
He acted like he was hungry, so we went to the kitchen and got an apple. He watched me as I washed it and cut a small slice. He followed me to the front room. I sat on the floor, and he sat on my lap. We both began enjoying our apples.
He ate a small piece, obviously enjoying one of his most favorite treats. He looked me in the eyes, smiled, and held his apple up toward my lips. I smiled back and pretended to nibble his apple, then motioned that he could have it back. He smiled even bigger and took another bite of his apple slice.
Then I thought that this is a perfect example of how we should look upon giving back to God.
My son could clearly see that I had a bigger apple, but that didn’t bother him. He knew that I had given him his slice of apple, and that I had plenty for myself. Yet he wanted me to share his slice. He smiled as he offered it to me. He delighted when I accepted his offering. He did not expect to receive anything more in return for his gift; he was just happy to give.
I learned a little about giving today from a 1-year-old.