Pastor’s Blog

Learning to Give

The Christian life is an uphill struggle from beginning to end. One area that is especially challenging is learning to give. The believer has eternal life because God the Father gave his Son on Calvary for our sins. Following that example, the child of God must lay aside personal desires and ambitions and focus on the needs of others. One way to do that is through spiritual, systematic, sacrificial, and surprise giving.

Spiritual Giving

The first thing that God asks us to give is our heart. Without spiritual surrender, all other giving will be strained at best. The believers in Macedonia understood this. Paul said that before they gave anything in the offering, they gave themselves to the Lord (2 Cor. 8:1-5). He urged the Christians in Rome to make a living offering to God, that is, their “spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1). My heart must be right with God before he will accept my gifts.

Systematic Giving

Having examined my heart, the next step is to establish a pattern. In both the Old and New Testaments, we find God’s people giving periodically to the Lord. They came weekly, monthly, and yearly out of love and obedience. They gave tithes of their income and offerings out of their abundance. You and I must be just as scrupulous in our giving to our faithful and gracious Father.

Sacrificial Giving

However, our devotion must go beyond bare duty. Our gracious God spared no expense when he offered his Son on the cross as payment for our sin (Rom. 8:32). How can we do less? David declared that he would not offer to the Lord cheap, convenient offerings. He would make sacrifices worthy of the God of Israel (2 Sam. 24:24). May we have the same sacrificial spirit in our giving.

Surprise Giving

Lastly, there are times when we receive unexpected gifts when we have no immediate personal use for them. Perhaps the Lord would have you pass it on to others who are in greater need. Ask God to give you a discerning spirit and a generous heart as you seek “to abound in this grace also” (2 Cor. 8:7).