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"Giving is Love" Part 1 of 2 from the Autumn 2017 Vision Newsletter
Giving is...
Giving allows us to give expression to our passions, interests, and feelings by offering ourselves and our resources to help advance them. As Christians, giving is an integral part of our faith and a vital part of our profession to the world that we are followers of Jesus.
We would like to discover together some deeper aspects of giving in all its forms. In this article, we’ll focus on giving is love. Upcoming Vision Newsletters will introduce faith, joy, worship, mission, sacrifice, and secret – all aspects of giving.
We pray that these articles will serve to inspire a new understanding of Christian giving and a new desire to demonstrate God’s love to the world through a renewed willingness to share what we’ve been blessed with.
Giving is love...
Our desire to give begins and ends with God. John wrote in 1 John 4:16, God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. It is love that has brought us from the brink of despair into fellowship with God. It is the love God has shown us that fuels our passion to share with others what we have been given. When we recognize that we are unworthy to receive all that God has given us, we must respond in love towards our God and our neighbors. This love prompts us to give freely from what we’ve been blessed with.
Following God’s example
We’re often told to hold on to the things that are most precious to us, and for good reason. Whatever we consider most precious is very valuable to us – it is instinctual for us to safeguard these things. Because of this, we may be reluctant to share what is precious to us out of fear that we will not get them back or have our generosity reciprocated. But let us understand that giving is love. And our guiding example for how to love is God, Himself, who is love. We must learn to love as He loves – unconditionally and without concern for reciprocation. So how do we learn to give unconditionally from those things that are most precious to us, our very best? Follow God’s example.
In John 3:16, the Bible says, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. God’s creation is sin-filled and broken. And yet, this has not deterred His love from us. Instead, He further proved His love by giving the very best He had to all people: His son, Jesus Christ. The sacrifice of His Son was not given for just the people of that time, but rather for all people in all times. And so, we can feel that God continues to look upon us with love.
In Romans 5:8, Paul wrote, But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This verse speaks to the unconditional nature of God’s love for humankind. The sacrifice that Christ brought on the cross for sinners showed that there was no activity, no good work, which anyone could do to receive God’s grace and reprieve from their sins. It was only by the gift of Jesus Christ that redemption could be received. While we were still sinners, Jesus gave His life for us. God’s love is unconditionally given to His creation and we are called, as disciples of Jesus, to share this unconditional love we have been given.