Generosity, A Tangible Fruit; 2 Corinthians 7-9

May the mumbling commence!

Generosity is a most tangible fruit of faith.  Christians who give and give sacrificially show that they know that they can rely upon God.  This kind of giving does not bring praise to the giver but brings praise to God instead.  This kind of giving will work as a magnetic attraction for all who witness it – the grace of God.

And, even in such sacrificial giving, we will not suffer want.  It is a simple fact that we cannot out give God.  Read from Second Corinthians chapter nine:

Let everyone give as his heart tells him, neither grudgingly nor under compulsion, for God loves the man who gives cheerfully. After all, God can give you everything that you need, so that you may always have sufficient both for yourselves and for giving away to other people. As the scripture says: "He has dispersed abroad, he has given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever."

He who gives the seed to the sower and turns that seed into bread to eat, will give you the seed of generosity to sow, and, for harvest, the satisfying bread of good deeds well done. The more you are enriched by God the more scope there will be for generous giving, and your gifts, administered through us, will mean that many will thank God.

For your giving does not end in meeting the wants of your fellow-Christians. It also results in an overflowing tide of thanksgiving to God. Moreover, your very giving proves the reality of your faith, and that means that men thank God that you practice the Gospel that you profess to believe in, as well as for the actual gifts you make to them and to others.

And yet further, men will pray for you and feel drawn to you because you have obviously received a generous measure of the grace of God.

Thank God, then, for his indescribable generosity to you! (Verses 7-15)

Giving through a trust of God for other people is sustainable.  In fact, it will lead to plenty for everyone involved.  It is no wonder that people will thank God and praise God. 

This synergy of giving is a small part of the unknowable depths of God’s grace.  We do not fully understand how it works.  We just learn from experience after experience that it is undeniably so.  It is the practicing of the Gospel, the faith, that we believe in.

And this tangible practice of our faith in God makes the grace of God tangible to those people who witness the giving – not just to those who receive but also to those who witness the exchange.  It will draw people as surely as a light in the darkness attracts moths and insects.

Thank God, indeed!

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out