The Cheerful Giver

The Cheerful Giver

God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Corinthians 9:7

IN WORD Is God short of funds? If so, whatever happened to His power and His sovereignty? Why is He always trying to drum up support for His work? And if not, why does He expect us to give? If the coffers are already full—if He truly owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10)—why in the world does He ask for our resources?

Because God loves a cheerful giver. If we ever wanted a heart that beats with God’s, this is the way to get it. We who have freely received enormous grace and extravagant mercy ought to have liberal generosity flowing from our hearts. Heaven’s riches have been poured out on us. Sometimes it is a financial windfall, sometimes it is material or experiential, sometimes it is the giftings of His Spirit. And it is always grace—the forgiveness of our most grievous sins and the unmerited favor of receiving all we ever need in every area of our lives.

But not all of us experience such favor. Why not? There may be many reasons, but one of them is thinking that God’s gifts to us end with us. We aren’t just to be recipients, accepting what God has given for our own use, minus the 10 percent tip we owe Him. No, we are to be streams of blessing to others in every area that God has blessed us. That includes financially. If money flows liberally out, God will, in principle and with rare exceptions, ensure that our sufficiency flows liberally in. He gives so that we’ll give. And He gives cheerfully so that we’ll give cheerfully.

IN DEED The Greek word for “cheerful” in this verse is the same word from which we get “hilarious.” God loves a hilarious giver—someone who is not just comfortable with generosity but delighted with it. Not just someone who will answer an appeal for funds, but one who will seek out ways to bless with them. If our outflow in His name is great, our inflow in His name will be greater still.

But there’s a higher motivation than that. We are to give because we are children of the chief Cheerful Giver. Is He the only One who loves a cheerful giver? No. So do we.

A cheerful giver does not count the cost of what he gives. His heart is set on pleasing and cheering him to whom the gift is given.

—JULIAN OF NORWICH