Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Hello, welcome to your Daily Grace by Timothy Wilder Foundations Episode 117 Grace and Generosity Freely you have received freely give One of the most beautiful statements Jesus ever made about generosity is found in a simple instruction to his Freely you received freely give.
[00:00:26] Matthew 10:8 for much of my Christian life, I thought about giving primarily in terms of what I was expected to offer God. Whether it was money, service or ministry involvement, the focus was often on my responsibility.
[00:00:44] While there is certainly value in responsibility, I have come to see that Jesus was pointing us towards something much deeper.
[00:00:52] He was reminding us to start with what we have already received.
[00:00:57] The truth is that none of us came to God with anything to offer.
[00:01:01] We did not earn his love. We did not purchase his forgiveness. We did not qualify ourselves for grace.
[00:01:09] Everything we have received from him has been a gift.
[00:01:13] James writes, every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.
[00:01:21] James 1:17 Every blessing, every opportunity, every talent, every provision, every act of mercy has its source in Him.
[00:01:31] Once we begin to see life through that lens, generosity changes.
[00:01:36] Giving is no longer about meeting a requirement. It becomes a response to gratitude.
[00:01:42] Think about all that God has poured into our lives. He has given us his presence when we felt alone. He has given us peace when we were anxious. He has given us strength when we were weak. Most importantly, he has given us Himself.
[00:01:58] Paul reminds us, he who did not spare his own son, but gave him up for us all. How will he not also, with him, graciously give us all things? Romans 8:32 God is by nature a giver, and the more we understand his generosity toward us, the more natural it becomes to reflect on that same generosity toward others.
[00:02:22] This goes far beyond money.
[00:02:25] Sometimes the most valuable thing we can give is our time.
[00:02:30] Sometimes it is our attention.
[00:02:32] Sometimes it is a listening ear, a word of encouragement, a meal delivered to a struggling family, or simply showing up when someone needs support.
[00:02:42] Peter wrote, as each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace.
[00:02:51] 1 Peter 4:10 I love that verse because it reminds us that every believer has been entrusted with something worth sharing.
[00:03:00] Some have gifts of teaching. Others have gifts of encouragement, hospitality, leadership, mercy or service. Whatever God has placed in our hands was never intended to stop with us.
[00:03:14] Grace was meant to flow.
[00:03:17] When we freely give what we have freely received. We become channels of God's goodness in the world. His comfort flows through us. His kindness flows through us. His generosity flows through us.
[00:03:31] I have discovered that the most joyful Christians are often not the ones focused on what they can get from God, but on what they can share because of what God has already given them.
[00:03:42] That is the heart of New Covenant generosity.
[00:03:46] We are not trying to earn God's approval. We already have it in Christ. We are not giving to gain his love. We are giving because his love has already captured our hearts. And when grace truly takes hold of us, giving becomes one of the most natural things we thanks for listening. If you are being fed and or uplifted by these messages, we encourage you to like, comment, share and subscribe. These things help us spread the message of grace.
