This is one of the most difficult posts I have had to put out. Why? Because this is one area that seems so divisive in the church today. As someone who has sat on both sides of the divide in this area, I understand why there is so much polarity concerning this topic. So today, by the grace of God, I ask you to come with me on this journey, as we dissect the Word of God and see what He has to say concerning the truth about giving.
1. The DNA of Giving
To understand the concept of giving, it is important for us to go to the genesis of giving.
The very first time we see giving in the Bible is in Genesis 1: 29-30:
Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground – everything that has the breath of life in it – I give every green plant for food.” And it was so.
Giving originated from God. He is , by nature, a giver:
Thou hast given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.
Psalm 21:2
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:11
If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!
Luke 11:13
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave himself up for us all – how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Romans 8:32
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.
James 1:17
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2 Peter 1:3
The above mirrors, gotten from both the old and new testaments, prove that God is a giver. You cannot seperate God from giving, nor giving from God.
So why does God, the Creator of the heavens and all that is in them, the earth and all that is in it and the sea and all that is in it, give..?
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
God gives as an expression of His Love for us. His giving nature flows from His Love nature. He does not give out of obligation or manipulation. He simply gives because He loves us. And His giving, like His love, has no bounds. Giving is embedded in His Love DNA!
Your Turn
We have reached the first conclusion about giving i.e. giving originated from God, as an expression of His Love for us.
How does this relate to you and I?
So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Genesis 1:27
If God is a giver, and we were created in His image, then we too are givers. If God gives out of love, and we were created in His image, we too are to give out of love.