The joy of generosity

Generosity ¹seems to be a ¹primary part of who God is and what makes Him tick, i.e. how he operates. He delights in giving. God so loved... He gave...

As His image bearers, we are designed the same way, but with a major difference. Only God has unlimited resources - i.e. He is the Source of all things. He is an endless overflowing fountain of love. We are not. 

Why? Because God is a community of infinite, endless love among and within Himself as Father and Son who continually gives and receives love in, by, and through the Spirit.

As bearers of God's image we also find joy in giving. But we are not an unlimited, endless, overflowing fountain. Only God is as a ⁵community of love. 

If we get love from another image bearer in our giving (such as a spouse or other relationships), we may be able to maintain this kind of relationship for a long time. But if we find ourselves giving more than getting, we become exhausted and the relationship withers and eventually dies.  

However, when we ²plug into and reconnect with God, we become a conduit connected to that unlimited, overflowing fountain of infinite love again. 

This enables us to love others ³without receiving from them anything in return because ⁴God is our source of love, not others. i.e. other bearers of God's image.

Without being reconnected to the source of love and life, we run out of gas (love and life, etc.). 

But when we are connected and plugged into the Source of love, life, and all things, we can become an unlimited resource because we are plugged into the unlimited supply.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich...

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work..." 2 Cor 8:9, 9:6-8

For a more in-depth look into 2 Cor 8:9, 9:6-8 click here.

Related articles:

For more on how God is relationship click here.  

For more on whether God is dependent or independent click here. 

For more on the life, love and the Spirit of God click here.  

For more on how God is perpetual love click here

Are love and value the same? For a discussion, click here. 

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Footnotes:

¹I say "seems" only because we can't put God in a box and reduce him to something far less than he is. We are only scratching the surface of just one aspect of his character, though a very fundamental and significant one. Maybe the most significant aspect of who God is.

We should approach God - at a minimum - with the same awe and mystery we approach the universe itself in all its infinite vastness. Not as some sort of object we can dissect to see how it ticks, but as a person and dynamic being of infinite beauty and depth, we will never reach the bottom of. God is an infinitely glorious being we will go through all eternity discovering more of and should therefore be in total awe of. 

We can know different aspects about God only because - and as - He reveals them to us. And because God is infinite - and we are not - there is still mystery about what He is like and who He is that we will continually plumb the depths of throughout eternity with ever-increasing awe and joy! What we now know is only the beginning and a tiny speck of the depth, breadth, and width of the beauty and wonder of God.

Not because he's trying to hide from us but because we are not humble enough for him to reveal himself more fully. We only see God clearly to the extent we humbly trust Him. 

The key to seeing more of His infinite beauty and mystery is humility. Without humility, we will never see Him clearly. 

Humility is a central part of the very character of God Himself.  How much more so should it be true of us who are finite?

Because of arrogance - i.e. thinking we are our own god and can make life work better without Him than with Him - we are blinded to seeing Him well if at all. It takes a humble disposition (ours) to recognize a humble disposition (God's).

As finite beings, we can never fully plumb the depths of His being or His heart. We will spend all eternity increasingly discovering more about God and His infinite beauty and love. We will never be bored but increasingly enthralled the more we see and know Him.

²As bearers of God's image, we were originally designed to be in perfect union with our Creator. Through this union, everything else is meant to flow. When we rebelled and turned away to be our own god, we cut ourselves off from our infinite Creator, the only Source of life, love, and all things. We no longer partook of God, the endless fountain of love. Without Him, we are empty and left longing for love. It is this longing that creates all our problems because we go to anything and everything other than God - the true Source of all things - to fill that longing. 

³Unlike us, God is an endless source of love and does not need to get anything from us in order to give. He is perpetual giving because he is perpetual receiving within and between the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit.

Whereas we may give but can't sustain giving unless we get an equal amount or more love than we give... or at least feel like we are getting as much or more. 

⁴This is also why only a godly marriage is most fulfilling, successful and flourishing. God is the center and source of love for each partner, vs each other.  

In fact a successful and flourishing marriage is a picture of the community of our triune God as a relational being. 

⁵God is a community of love as Father, Son, and Spirit. We thrive in a loving relationship because we are designed for love i.e. we are Godlike, who is love Himself. We cannot operate outside of love no more than God does. God is love. We are designed for love because we are like God - in His image. To assume we can operate properly without being in union with the Source of life, love, and all things is to be someone that even God isn't i.e. the Father, Son, and Spirit do not operate independently of each other.