A Generous Man - Cornelius

In Caesarea there lived a Roman army officer named Cornelius, who was a captain of the Italian Regiment. He was a devout, God-fearing man, as was everyone in his household. He gave generously to the poor and prayed regularly to God.

Acts 10:1-2

Researchers at the University of Bern in Switzerland have found that under some circumstances, rats demonstrate a type of generosity. When Professor Michael Taborsky trained his rodents to pull a lever to produce food for other rats but not for themselves, the lab rats demonstrated a phenomenon known as “generalized reciprocity.” The rats that had benefited from this kind of charity in the past were found to be 20 percent more likely to help another rat acquire food than the ones that hadn’t.

Life lessons from the world of nature!

Scripture recognizes Cornelius, a Roman army officer, as a man of great generosity. He gave richly to others out of what he had received.

As captain of a Roman regiment and head of his family, Cornelius was a busy man. Apparently, he also provided strong spiritual leadership for the members of his household, and he always made generous giving to the poor a lifelong priority.

God honored Cornelius’s generosity. The Lord sent an angel to visit Cornelius, which both terrified and encouraged him. The angel acknowledged his openhanded giving to those in need: “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!” (Acts 10:4).

Although Cornelius hadn’t yet come to faith in Jesus, this man foreshadowed the teachings of the apostle Paul, who later wrote, “Don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives cheerfully’” (2 Corinthians 9:7). God saw to it that Cornelius heard the gospel, and as soon as he did, he became the first known Gentile convert to Christ.

When you give generously to those in need, you put yourself in a position to receive from God and to set an important example for your family and others. How can you demonstrate cheerful generosity today?