The Grace of Giving by John A. Brunson

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Dec 24, 1901

The Grace of Giving.

By John A. Brunson

Elder John A. Brunson.

That quality of mind which freely disposes one to give liberally of his material substance for the support of the gospel, is a grace bestowed by God, and like all the other gifts of God, it brings rich blessings when properly and judiciously exercised. “Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit [that is, we make known to you] of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia.” Note that grace was bestowed upon the Macedonian churches by God. What was this grace?—It was the grace of giving, for “in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; praying us with much entreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.” Note further that the exercise of this grace brought abundance of joy, even amid “a great trial of affliction” and “deep poverty.” The joy was not in consequence of the affliction and poverty, but in spite of them. It is just as true that every gift from God is good, as it is that every good gift is from God; and because every gift from God is good, and is for service, the proper use thereof will redound to the glory of God and the good of man. The grace of giving is not an exception, and so Paul exhorted the Ephesians “to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The rich experience of the Jews in contributing means for the erection of the temple is an illustration of this fact. The record says, “Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the Lord.”

God wants His people to give willingly, “not grudgingly, or of necessity.” Give because you love, and you will love to give. The gift that is prompted by true, unselfish love is twice blessed. It becomes a blessing both to the recipient and to the giver. To him who loves Christ, giving is a privilege, not an unpleasant duty; and the sentiment of his heart is not how little I can give and satisfy my conscience, but how liberally will my present condition allow me to indulge in this blessed privilege. Unselfish giving is the natural expression of true love; and so highly does love esteem the privilege of giving, that it will not for a moment entertain the thought of abandoning it. Do you love Christ? Have you a personal affection for Him as real as that which you bear for a wife, or a mother, or a child? If so, this personal love for the personal Christ will constitute the real basis of your liberality. You will take delight in making a present to Christ, as truly as you do in giving Christmas gifts to some earthly loved one. You will not wait for the contribution box, nor congratulate yourself if you elude the solicitor, but you will give voluntarily, esteeming the opportunity of giving to your dear Saviour’s cause a privilege too great to lose.

Remember also that God does not desire us to give because He needs our gifts; for “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof.” “The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.” The millions of dollars that are in general circulation all belong to the Lord, and it is an easy matter for Him to turn a golden stream into His treasury. This He will do some day not far distant. His promise is, “The abundance of the sea shall be turned unto thee, the wealth of the nations shall come unto thee.” Isa. 60: 5, R. V. The fulfillment of this promise is mercifully delayed, because God does not wish to deprive His own beloved children of the opportunity of showing their love and loyalty to Him by contributing of their means for the support of His cause, which they have espoused and profess to love. I repeat, then, God is not dependent upon our gifts. He seeks not ours, but us. He does not wish to deprive us of the blessing of giving. Therefore He allows His own cause to suffer financial embarrassment in order to test us, to know what is in our heart, to prove the depth and sincerity of our professed loyalty. He now appeals to us, His beloved children, to show our devotion by denying self in order that we may give more liberally to the support of the work. He will not turn the wealth of the Gentiles Zionward till He has first given us an opportunity. The gospel order of procedure is, The Jew first, and then the Gentile.

But ponder well this fact, my dear brother, that if we, the real seed of Abraham, the children of our Father’s household, refuse to heed the gracious invitation which is now extended to us, and selfishly keep back the means that have been intrusted to our keeping, God will turn to the Gentiles; the golden stream will replenish His treasury, but we shall lose the blessing. Unselfish giving is a means of character building, and uprightness of character is what our Father wants. We cannot afford to miss this opportunity. God can easily produce the money required to meet the present demands without our co-operation; but can we afford to let Him do it? How gracious is God to identify us with His Son Jesus, so that His needs become ours and ours become His! and therefore He has made the prosperity of the cause to depend upon our loyalty and unselfish devotion. Then let us awake to present opportunities, and joyfully embrace the privilege of manifesting our love by our hearty support. The prophecy above quoted will be fulfilled whether we give or withhold. The wealth of the Gentiles really belongs to God, and will ultimately be used in advancing His work in the earth. But let us not by our selfishness and covetousness force God to turn away from us, His children, and seek from

the Gentiles that which we can and ought to contribute. If we do, we shall lose much, God will be dishonored, the sufferings of Christ slightingly treated, and we confirmed in our selfishness. God forbid that such may be.

Surely God is testing us in this matter. If we stand the test well, His name will be honored. If we fail to stand the test, we shall lose; but God will advance His work without us. We cannot plead inability, because our gifts, small or great, are an expression of our love. Neither shall we ask to be excused, for love continually seeks to express itself. Poverty will no more excuse a Christian from giving to Christ, than it will excuse him from loving Christ. When the child of God becomes too poor to love, then he becomes too poor to contribute, but not till then. By reason of poverty his gifts may be small, very small, and in the eyes of the world insignificant; but not so in the eyes of God. Thank God for the record of the widow’s mite. Her humble gift was a love offering, and the Saviour valued it as such. He appreciated it, not because of its intrinsic value, but because it was an expression of her heart’s truest and best affection. How precious it was in His eyes! It spoke to Him of a life that was loyal, of a heart that was true, of affections deep, pure, and unselfish.

Now brother, do you wish to be relieved of the privilege of giving to your Redeemer?—No, a thousand times no, if you love Him. Are you poor, and do you feel ashamed that your gift is small? Then remember that Christ is not seeking your money for money’s sake, but He seeks your heart, your affections. He asks you to give, not to enrich Him, but to benefit and bless you. Behold how good He is in giving us a privilege big with blessing and abounding in joy. He himself declared, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” He personally experienced this blessedness, and then so arranged the plan of salvation that we may share it with Him.

It is time for parents to educate their children on this point, both by example and by precept. Instead of teaching the little ones on birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas seasons selfishly to anticipate a present, teach them to give for the relief of others less favored than themselves. The Christian’s joy consists less in the selfish pleasure of receiving than in the unselfish delight of giving. Make this fact prominent in the household. Teach it in word. Illustrate it in life. Become the living embodiment of the principle you inculcate. Then you may expect your children, brought up in the pure atmosphere of unselfishness, to reflect in their lives the sunshine of heavenly love. To be supremely unselfish is to be supremely happy. Therefore to teach a child to be selfish is to increase his unhappiness. But to teach him unselfishness increases his happiness, and therefore his usefulness.

The time has come for a movement forward. Our Father has adopted us into His family, made us one with His only Begotten, identified our interests with His, and now admonishes us that our loyal and liberal support is needed. Has He not a right to expect it? Does He not claim from us our first and truest allegiance?—Certainly He does. And moreover, have we not pledged our love, our life, our all? Do we not declare that we and all we possess are His entirely? Have we deceived ourselves? or do we joyfully acknowledge His claims upon us, and cheerfully respond? A great opportunity awaits us, yea, an opportunity that involves great privileges and solemn responsibilities. Somebody is going to recognize it and respond. Somebody is going to stand the test. Somebody is going to reap large spiritual blessings to the glory of our Redeemer. Who will it be? You? May God grant it for His name’s sake.