Thursday: The Experience of Giving
If Christ came to reveal to us the character of God, one thing should be clear by now: God loves us, and He wants only the best for us. He asks us to do only what would be for our own benefit, never to our detriment.
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This would include, too, His call for us to be generous and cheerful givers of what we have been given. The freewill and generous offerings we give are as much a benefit to ourselves, the giver, as they can be to those who receive them. Only those who give this way can know for themselves just how much more blessed it is to give than to receive.
Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-7. How does this text so encapsulate what giving should be about?
Giving a generous offering can and should be a very personal, spiritual act. It is a work of faith, an expression of gratitude for what we have been given in Christ.
And, as with any act of faith, giving only increases faith, for “faith without works is dead” (James 2:20). And there is no better way to increase faith than to live out our faith, which means doing things that grow out of our faith, that spring from it. As we give, freely and generously, we are in our own way reflecting the character of Christ. We are learning more about what God is like by experiencing Him in our own acts. Thus, giving like this only builds trust in God and the opportunity to “taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (Ps. 34:8, NKJV).
“It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love. In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which ‘seeketh not her own’ has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.” – Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages, p. 20.
| In what ways have you experienced the reality of how faith grows through giving freely and generously out of what you have been given? |
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We cannot give without first experiencing the love of God.
His love transforms us to give.
Every one of the disciples willingly laid down their life for their master.
Let us experience the power of the gospel to free us from self so we may give All unconditionally.
We must be careful not to give the impression that Christians are the only ones who can give. There are many examples of unchurched folk who give without any thought of reward. Even atheists can act and give with a sense of moral responsibility that can be an example to us.
The clear difference for us is that we have the example of Jesus, and because we claim that Jesus "lives in us", our giving should demonstrate that.
What you say, Newbegin, in your first sentence is also a truth.
And what you say, Maurice, is also truth.
And the Bible teaches us that genuinely altruistic/beneficent giving is not within our inherent human nature.
Putting these 3 truths together then, it would seem then that we cannot give without first experiencing the love of God - however some people ('believers') will formally know of/identify it as the love of God and some people ('non-churched', 'athiests', 'agnostics', etc) won't (as per Romans 2:14).
Deep inside I may be far from being a perfect example! Glory is only to be given to God, His Son and His Spirit. But I've been blessed very much for at least trying to be faithful regarding my earnings! The sense that God is the One Who truly owns everything I (think) possessed has been permeating my mind. Action does help to confirm my beliefs!
It is simple, do we want to be more blessed? Just be faithful with what we have - this is our homework!
The lesson states "He asks us to do only what would be for our own benefit, never to our detriment."
It would appear I can have one of two motivations for giving:
1) I can give because I want to be blessed/benefited in return, or
2) I can give because I realise this will help me develop a more Christlike character so that I can be a better blessing/benefit to others.
There may be a third and that is because doing right and good things is the right and good thing to do.
Yes, you are correct Stephen.
I've gotten used to automatically seeing the second and third ways as synonymous: the good and right thing to do is the way God/Christ does things - and therefore the Christlike way of doing things is the good and right way. So, to me they have become one and the same and are both motivated by a 100% outward focus - but you are correct in what you say.
Beautiful lesson. The last question posed by the writer assumes that we have been given, which is a good assumption, of course to those who have been given. What then do we say to those who have not yet been given By God? From what should they freely give from? is it correct to think that if i have not received from God i am not expected to God. Please guide?
I am not sure that I really understand your question.
All those who believe in God know and appreciate what God has already given us. Our response is to share that love by giving to others. If we believe that God has not given us anything then perhaps we need to read John 3:16 again. I hope that helps.
Our breath and our very life come from God. I don't think anyone can say they haven't received anything from God.
"...He gives to all life, and breath, and all things." Acts 17:25
Christians learn that EVERYTHING we have is because God gave us the ability to earn and it is ALL His anyway. Tithing and giving is a test of trust for God's Word that He will continue to provide. I love the saying that We Can't Outgive God!