THE LESSON OF GIVING

Giving is a spiritual and a relational issue with God. In order to truly acknowledge God's ownership of our possessions, we must evaluate carefully what may be the most telling evidence of our service.

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That Christians may learn how to be progressive in their giving service to God Giving is one of the fundamental issues of life that practically everyone talks about and expects from one another.

In fact, there are stickers on the popular cliché 'givers never lack.' Unfortunately, when it comes to being practical about this, many Christians take the back seat, expecting other christians around to do the giving. Some may even say that ' l do not have enough; how am I to give to others? Many examples of giving abound in the scriptures that we can glean from.

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God the Father is an exemplary Giver (2 Corinthians 9:15). NO heart can conceive how great this gift of God, Jesus Christ, is to us all (John 3:16). God's best was given for our worst. What a mystery!

God the Son (Jesus Christ) offered Himself as a gift for all (2 Corinthians 8:9). The possessor of the heaven and the earth, rich in all glory and blessedness, emptied Himself for our sake. We should be charitable to others out of what we have, because we ourselves live upon the benevolence of Jesus Christ.

Macedonian Christians (2 Corinthians 8:1-5) have clearly taught us that we do not have to have a surplus before we give. We do not have to be full before we feed others. We do not need a factory of clothes before we give clothes to others. Even in their poverty, the Macedonian Christians gave. You too can be a partaker of this grace.

LESSON LEARNED FROM GIVING

God commanded every believer to give (2 Corinthians 9: 7), and to give in the following ways:

To give generously (Exodus 25:2-7; Mark 14:3-9; Luke 21:3, 4; 2 Corinthians 9:6-10). To be 'generous' means to be willing to give rnore than usual or more than is required. It can also mean to give bountifully. One of the ways by which we can be progressive in our giving service to God is by giving generously.

To give regularly (2 Corinthians 8:11). Believers must learn to give as early as there may be a desire or call to give. we must not be weary of giving.

To give voluntarily (Exodus 35:21, 29; 36: 3; 2 Corinthians 9.7) While giving, there must not be compulsion. It has to be from your heart, and willingly. However, we should not harden our

To give sacrificially (2 Corinthians 8•.2, 3). In progressive giving service to God, we may be required to stretch ourselves. The Macedonians did it. The Widow in Luke 21:1-4 also did. We can.