To grasp or to give?
As the local economy tightens, our instinct is to grasp. We tighten our grip on what we have and reach for more, more and more.
To grasp is not the way of our God. He opens his hand to give. In creation he gives in the overflowing abundance of species, scents, shades and shapes. In his works of providence, he gives inexhaustible tokens of his patience, compassion, power and holiness. In Jesus there is a covering for sin that is sufficient for all who believe. In short, our God is what we sometimes call ‘a good giver’ – a superfluous, abounding, overspilling grace that cannot be measured.
Scripture urges us to “… excel in this grace of giving” (2 Cor 8:7). As always, God does not ask us to do something that he has not already done.
God’s example of giving in the gospel of Jesus is the model for his people. We are to pass on what we have received and to love in the same way with which we have been loved.
God’s example of giving is also our motive to give. Because he has given, we are freed up to give. His grace gives the security that enables us to open our hearts and hands with generosity.
Generous giving is an opportunity to put the gospel on display. It challenges the grasping hand of greed where enough is never enough. It undermines the dog-eat-dog mentality of grim Darwinian survivalism. It confronts the selfishness that dulls our senses and closes our eyes, ears and heart to the needy. Generous giving pays forward the love whose measure is the gift of God’s one and only Son.
This Christmas is an opportunity to give as God gives and because God gives. Let’s be generous with our time to bless those from whom we have nothing to gain. Let’s be generous with our talents, to share with those who are differently-abled. And let’s be generous with our treasure to supply the needs of others. When we think about it, the word our in those sentences is problematic. Let’s be generous with God’s time, God’s talents and God’s treasures.
We can do this on a personal and church-wide basis. What needy neighbour or stranger can we invite to our Christmas table? To what global cause can we contribute through agencies such as PresAid?
To grasp or to give?
I wish all a blessed Christmas and a Christ-centred start to the new year.
David Burke,
Moderator-general
December 2024