How do we “give generously” and “without a grudging heart?” We can look to God and His Son as our examples. The message of the gospel is one of God’s giving His Son to the world so that we might be saved. And in turn, it’s Jesus giving Himself, in obedience to the Father, on our behalf to purchase eternal life for believers.
“Our giving is a reflexive response to God’s grace in our lives. It doesn’t come out of our altruism or philanthropy for which we might congratulate ourselves. Rather, it comes out of Christ’s transforming work in us. We give because He first gave to us. While our giving to Him pales in comparison to His giving to us, it pleases God when we follow His example.” (Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle)
In 2 Corinthians 9:7, we read that “God loves a cheerful giver.” There are myriad reasons why it might be hard to give cheerfully, and those are not always easy to put aside. However, my prayer is that you would feel prompted to try out giving in some capacity and see what the Lord has in store for you. I’d put my money on the fact that the Lord will produce a new experience of joy that wasn’t there before.
Let the Macedonian churches of 2 Corinthians 8:2-5 be our inspiration: “In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.”