Although the gifts we give may take many forms, one thing about giving should always remain the same—all of our giving should be motivated by love.

In recent years, we’ve learned some things about giving by faith—and that’s good. But at times, we’ve neglected love. And since faith works by love, sometimes our giving has missed the mark.

You see, it’s not enough for us to give mechanically. It’s not enough for us just to give out of strict obedience because God told us to do it. God wants our giving to be an expression of love.

Second Corinthians 9:7 says it this way. “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity… “ What does it mean to give out of necessity? It means to do it because you feel you have to. To give not as an expression of love, but as an expression of obligation or duty.

If you want to see an example of real, godly giving between brethren, you can find it in 1 Samuel 18. There, the Bible in telling about the covenant friendship between David and Jonathan says:

And it carne to pass...that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul... Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.
(1 Sam. 18: 1, 3-4)

To understand what Jonathan actually did when he gave David his sword and his bow, you have to realize that in those days one of the most important things about a man was his ability to be a warrior. That was especially true with Jonathan because he was the king’s son.

What’s more, fine weapons were not plenteous. And if you practiced with a weapon a long time, you got used to the feel of it and it became like an extension of your body. Having such a weapon could easily save your life. Therefore, Jonathan’s sword and bow were among his most highly prized personal possessions.

Why did he give them away? Was it because he didn’t want them anymore? Of course not. Jonathan gave those valuable weapons to David to demonstrate his love. Through giving, he said with an action more powerful than words, “David, I prize these things, but I prize you even more.”

Now, I don’t know how much Jonathan’s weapons were worth in dollars and cents but the truth is, it doesn’t matter. The degree of the expression of love is not determined by the dollar value of the gift. It is determined by the value of the gift to the giver.

If you’ll look through the Word, you’ll see that great men and women of God often made huge demonstrations of love for God by giving Him that which was precious to them. David, for example, once refused to accept the gift of land and animals he needed to make a sacrifice to the Lord. He turned down the man’s generous offer and said, “Nay, but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing” (2 Sam. 24:24).

Let’s give with the realization of expressing and demonstrating God’s goodness and love. And by this shall all men know that we are truly the disciples of Jesus.
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