The Grace of Giving

Big Idea: True blessedness comes from seeing life as a gift from God and finding joy and abundance in giving rather than hoarding.

What do you do 18 times a minute, 1,080 times an hour, 25,920 times a day, and over nine million times a year, without even noticing? The answer is simple: you breathe. By the time you reach forty, you’ve taken more than 375 million breaths, each one a gracious gift from the hand of God. Your lungs are essential for supplying oxygen to your blood and removing carbon dioxide and water. Without them, or the oxygen they provide, you wouldn’t survive more than a few minutes. If your lungs ever stopped working, even briefly, life would end. Yet, from the moment you let out your first cry at birth, they’ve worked tirelessly, without fail, sustaining you every step of the way.

The Scriptures say:

In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of all mankind.
(Job 12:10)

Have you ever thought what dependent creatures we are? Our very existence depends upon the grace of God, giving us the next breath we breathe.

Let's hear some more facts. The layer of oxygen hugging the surface of the earth is very thin. Most humans could not survive breathing the oxygen at 40,000 feet above the Earth's surface. Do you ever realize that only 5 miles of oxygen sustain the planet? If you traveled five miles up from here, you would die. The very air we breathe is the gracious gift of God. Can anyone here doubt that God is a giving God?

God’s Goodness in Everyday Gifts

I want to consider a statement of Jesus against this backdrop. It's not recorded in the Gospels, but Paul quoted our Lord Jesus Christ in Acts 20:35.

In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." (Acts 20:35)

Now, we all know it's blessed to receive. There's not one of us that this morning would be disappointed if we received a wonderful piece of merchandise. I received a free T-shirt the other week. I didn't need another T-shirt, and it hasn't changed my life, but when I got my free T-shirt last week, I felt grateful to receive it. Because I went right away and put on that free T-shirt.

What we forget sometimes is that everything good we receive comes from the hand of God. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17) Everything good in life comes from God. You see, God is a giving God, and what God gives is good. This morning, I want to remind you that everything good in your life—your breath, health, family, work, home, car, leisure, and even the ability to eat and rest—comes from God.

The late tennis legend Arthur Ashe inspired millions both on and off the court. After contracting AIDS from a blood transfusion, he could have grown bitter, asking, "Why me?" Instead, Ashe offered this profound perspective: "If I asked, 'Why me?' about my troubles, I would have to ask, 'Why me?' about my blessings. Why my winning Wimbledon? Why my marrying a beautiful, gifted woman and having a wonderful child?" Ashe understood gratitude.

Insurance companies refer to hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes as "acts of God," but the real reflection of God's hand is the birth of a baby—one of life's greatest miracles. A parent's love, a rainbow after a storm, a stunning sunset, or a perfectly performed symphony—these are true acts of God, showcasing his goodness and glory.

Many of you know Dr. George Bell, a pastor and former president of Central Baptist Seminary. Dr. Bell lost his wife, Gwen, to cancer. One day, in the hospital waiting room, someone asked him why he wasn’t bitter about her passing. His response was striking: "Picture your neighbor coming to your door every day for 30 days, giving you $100 and not accepting 'no' as an answer. Then, on the 31st day, you see the neighbor pass by your house and give $100 to someone else. Would you dare open your door and shout, 'You cheat! Where’s my $100?' " He continued, "God gave me Gwen for all this time. And now, on the 31st day, in a sense, He’s taking her away. I choose to be grateful for the 30 days I had her, rather than resent the 31st day she’s been taken away."

Friends, God is so good. Consider this: 88% of us will live to see age 50, and some of you have already passed that milestone. Over 70% of us will reach age 70, and some of you are there now. Nearly 17% of us will live to age 85 or beyond, A century ago, a 40-year-old was considered elderly in America. God has been abundantly good in extending our lives. Let’s not take a single day for granted.

We should remember that God is a God of abundance.

You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
(Psalms 65:11)

Scientists say that one quarter of the ice-free areas of our world can produce enough food for 40 billion people. Currently, we have 6 billion. God designed the world so that it could support nearly seven times its current population if we manage our resources better. He has made this world a world of goodness and life. God is a giving God. And God gives grace.

The word grace in Greek indicates everything about an object or person that is winsome, appealing, and attractive. You and I are not deserving of God's grace. But God has given it to us anyway. We receive eternal life and salvation from our sins through the greatest gift: God's grace. God is good, and God has blessed us.

Blessed to Give, Not Just Receive

Now if God is a giver, that makes us receivers. Life should be received by us as a gift from Him. That means we ought to realize we're not here because of random circumstance. Nor are we the result of our own efforts. You didn't begin your own life. You didn't choose your family. You didn't choose Canada over any other country. There are a thousand such providences in your life with which you had nothing to do. They were received because they were given by the hand of God. And so, we should receive life as a gift from the hand of God. Every day, on every occasion, and at all costs, we should see the goodness of life as a gift from the hand of God.

The greater blessedness belongs, however, to those who do not simply receive, but give. The word "blessed" should not be confused with the English word "happiness." Happiness depends on circumstances. Blessedness does not. We are blessed as we not only receive, but as we give. It is more blessed to give than to receive.

A Life of Giving

In the late 19th century, psychiatry had become all the rage in London. One day, a man visited a psychiatrist, pouring out his struggles with deep depression. The doctor finally said, "Here’s my advice—go see Grimaldi the clown. He’s the most famous clown in history, and he’ll cheer you up." The man replied, "That’s the problem. I am Grimaldi the clown."

This story captures the human predicament with happiness—it’s fleeting, fragile, and dependent on circumstances. In contrast, the biblical word "blessed," as described in Psalm 1, paints a very different picture. The blessed person is like a tree planted by rivers of water. The plural "rivers" emphasizes the abundance of resources available to sustain it. In a desert land, where life depends on water, such a tree thrives with deep roots and unshakable stability. That’s the essence of true blessedness—a life anchored and nourished by God’s endless provision.

In New Testament times, Greeks referred to Cyprus as the "blessed" isle because it had everything needed to sustain life. Nothing had to be imported. In fact, the island could export to others out of its abundance. Hence, Cyprus was called the blessed isle. To this day, the archbishop of Cyprus is called Makarios, the Greek word for blessed. The blessed life is one of abundance. There is a fullness of life when you are blessed.

Here is the paradox of truth so characteristic of the Bible. Become a giving person, and you will be more blessed. That is, if you give, you will receive more and more abundance in every area of life that really matters. Import the full meaning of the biblical word "blessed" into this text. The life that has endlessly renewed spiritual resources is the life that gives. The life that only takes, grabs, receives, and refuses to give is the life that dries up its very source.

If you doubt this, only remember the lives of those you remember as being grasping, greedy people. Then consider the full lives lived by those who give. Only a little reflection shows the blessedness of the life that gives rather than grabs. I'll remind you that the word miserable comes from miser. Misers are miserable.

After the 1991 military coup in Haiti, the international community imposed an embargo on the tiny Caribbean nation. Life for many Haitians became a matter of daily struggle for survival. A missionary told of a Christian woman who stood up in a meeting and prayed, "We thank you, Lord, for the embargo. It has taught us to depend more fully on you. And it has given us a greater longing for heaven." This attitude demonstrates a blessedness that goes beyond circumstance.

A man touring a rural area in the Far East saw a boy pulling a crude plow while an old man held the handles and guided it through the rice paddy. The visitor commented, "I suppose they are poor." "Yes," said the guide, "when their church was built, they wanted to give something to help, but they had no money. So they sold their only ox. This spring they are pulling the plow themselves." Many people would say they're crazy. But they don't know the secret of the blessedness of giving. The area's richest person likely cannot comprehend the true inner peace of those who dedicate themselves fully to God's work. There is a fullness and a peace about the life that so gives to God.

God has woven into creation a profound truth: it is more blessed to give than to receive. The sun fulfills its purpose by giving heat and light. Its powerful atomic reaction keeps it alive as a star; without it, it would collapse into a white dwarf, a dead remnant. A tree thrives because it gives. Through photosynthesis, it absorbs carbon dioxide and releases oxygen, sustaining life for humans and animals. The ocean, too, lives because it gives. Its waters evaporate, forming clouds that bring rain to the earth, replenishing rivers that flow back to the sea. All of nature thrives through giving, reflecting the beauty of God’s design.

Jesus espoused the philosophy, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." We might well ask ourselves, how did this work out in various people's lives? Darwin taught a life of biological evolution with no place for God in the scheme of things. He died a miserable man. Marx taught a life of dialectical materialism and likewise died without comfort. His philosophy is now discredited. Freud taught a worldview of the human mind as conflict and denied the existence of God. He died a haunted man. Today, few psychiatrists follow the teachings of Freud.

What about Jesus, who taught that the truly blessed life is the life that gives? No one in history embodied this more fully than Jesus Christ. He gave up his place in heaven to be born in the humble stable of Bethlehem. He surrendered even the basic comforts of life to become a traveling preacher and healer. He gave his time to teach, heal, and cast out demons. By the end of his earthly life, all he owned was a seamless robe—and even that was taken from him as he bore the cross. Jesus showed the greatest love by sacrificing his life on the cross for humanity, which doesn't deserve such a gift.

The ultimate validation of Jesus’ philosophy of giving came on the third day, when God raised him from the dead. The resurrection confirms everything Jesus taught and exemplified, especially his message that it is more blessed to give than to receive.

Jesus lived in a world full of takers. The Jewish religious establishment, which controlled the temple, was riddled with corruption, exploiting people for financial gain. The Roman Empire, the greatest taker in history, plundered the wealth of the western world to fill its treasuries. Today, Annas, Caiaphas, Augustus, and Tiberius are mostly remembered because of their connection to Jesus Christ. No philosophy of life has ever been vindicated like that of Jesus.

The same holds true for those who have followed him. Every movement in history marked by mercy, care, generosity, and compassion finds its roots in the Christian faith. Where did hospitals originate? With the Christian faith. Where did care for orphans begin? With the Christian faith. Christianity has significantly influenced prison reform, women's rights, child labor laws, emancipation, and many other initiatives aimed at reducing human suffering. Without the Christian faith, civilization as we know it would not exist.

Wherever the gospel has taken root, it has inspired a profound outpouring of generosity. Great movements of giving have emerged, and because of that, countless lives have been transformed and sustained.

Have you really tried the philosophy of life, "It is more blessed to give than to receive"? Try it. It is the only instance in which God asks people to put him to the test.

Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need .(Malachi 3:10)

Committing to give to God and his work brings the promise of Jesus that your life will be more blessed as you give. You have been given the grace of God in all of life. Let that grace make you a giver.

Researchers have observed that goldfish, kept in small bowls for months, swim in tight, repetitive circles. Even when placed in a large pond, they still follow their old confined patterns, not realizing the barrier is gone. How much we resemble those goldfish! We often live within self-imposed limits, circling endlessly in patterns of getting, keeping, hoarding, and clutching. In doing so, we miss the expansive freedom and abundance that the grace of God offers. Jesus taught us a better way: true blessedness is found not in holding on, but in giving. We’ve experienced God’s grace. Now let’s live in the freedom of sharing it.