The Giving God
In October many churches celebrate
harvest time. It is appropriate to mark the ingathering of harvest by
thanking God for his abundant provision for our needs. God is a great giver.
None of us would exist apart from his freely given gifts. He gave us the gift of
life itself. Since the day of our birth, we have been the recipients of God's
kindness. He grants us the breath that we breathe, the food that we eat, the
clothes that we wear and the homes that we live in. He gives us families and
friends. God does not owe us any of these things. He simply loves to give and
give again. What a good God he is!
But although we may appreciate God's
gifts, do we ever pause to give thanks to the giver? From an early age we are
taught to give thanks when we receive gifts. Imagine if an adult gave a child a
toy and little Jonny simply grabbed the present and attempted to run off to play
with it without saying a word. We would think the child ungrateful. We would
expect his parent to remind the boy to say "Thank you!" for the present. Even
toddlers, barely able to string two words together are bidden to say "Ta!" when
given something. Should we not also thank God for all the wonderful things that
he has given us throughout our lives? The Bible says, "Every good gift and every
perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights with whom
there is no variation or shadow of turning." (James 1:17). God gives to us
freely and faithfully each day of our lives.
God's greatest gift to us is not
harvest, food or clothing. Above all else, he offers us himself. We can have a
relationship with this giving God because he gave his own Son to be our Saviour.
Jesus came to rescue us from our sin and ingratitude. By faith in Jesus, we
may experience the gift of God's eternal and abundant life. A Christian is a
person who has renounced all sense of entitlement. We are saved by God's free
and undeserved grace. What we deserve is death, what God gives is life, "For the
wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord." (Romans 6:23). Grace produces gratitude. The believer will worship God
for who he is and thank him for all that he has given. Grace also transforms us
from being ungrateful receivers into thankful givers. Knowing the giving God
will make us giving people. Freely we have received, freely let us give.