In a break room at his workplace, Chris Dempsey overheard a colleague talking about 27-year-old Heather Krueger. She had stage four liver disease. The doctors gave her a few months to live, and that wasn’t enough time to find a donor for a transplant. Chris had never met her. 

“If I can help I will help,” he said to himself. 

He got tested and found he was compatible to donate part of his liver to Heather. He agreed to do it, and they met for the first time. The operation was a success. Chris saved Heather’s life.

They became close. So close, in fact, that they fell in love and married. As one reporter put it, “A year and half later, after giving her part of his liver, she gave him all of her heart. When Chris decided to give an organ to a random stranger, he had no idea he was saving his own wife.”1

That’s what generosity looks like. Jesus modeled it, too.

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

Chris and Christ. Two beautiful generosity stories. Each reminds us that generosity is a choice.

Chris chose to lean in to generosity. It wasn’t just about Heather. He didn’t even know her. If it were someone else, he still would have given his liver. It was not based on rather or not Heather deserved it. It had more to do with Chris’ heart than Heather’s.

Christ chose to lean in to generosity. It wasn’t just about us. He left heaven for earth knowing full well that many would refuse his generous offer of abundant life. It wasn’t based on rather or not we deserved it. It had more to do with Christ’s heart than our’s.

Fear would have us shut our hearts and close our fists. Don’t share, it warns us, there’s not enough. Hang on to your life, it says, you’ve only got one. It would have you think of resources like a pie with a limited number of slices. Fight for the largest slice of the pie because the pie is fixed. Be a taker, not a giver. Resources are low. There’s not enough. Give into fear. 

Don’t. It’s not true. It only sounds true because we’ve believed a lie that God’s resources are limited. But we have Christ, the hope of glory. God’s pie is not fixed for us. It’s forever expanding, unlimited. God is not short of resources. Lean in to generosity. Act in the opposite spirit to the fear.

Get on your knees before God and ask, “Lord, how can I be generous like Chris, like Christ?”