GIVING by Wm. Arthur

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 23, 1877

GIVING

By Wm. Arthur

The system of redemption from first to last is one grand system of giving. God loved the world, and gave his only begotten Son to save it from eternal ruin. The Son loved us, and gave himself to die for us. This giving does not rest at the point of bounty, but passes on to that of inconceivable sacrifice. Every man, on whose spirit the true light of redemption breaks, finds himself an heir to an inheritance of givings, which began on the eve of time, and will keep pace with the course of eternity. To giving he owes his all; in giving he sees the substantial evidence he can offer that he is a grateful debtor; and the self-sacrifice of Him to whom he trusts says, far more pathetically than words can say, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Christianity ordains that giving shall be both bountiful and cheerful. It does not satisfy the demands of our religion that we give; we must give much. “He that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly.” This refers to the amount of gifts. But Christianity is not content here; that unsparing amount must be given with a cheerful heart, “not grudgingly, or of necessity, for God loveth the cheerful giver.”—Wm. Arthur.