Christ Driving the Moneychangers from the Temple, Rembrandt, 1626
Here is what I’ve been stuck on this week as we approach Good Friday and remember Jesus’ sacrifice: the sheer costliness of God’s generosity to us.
God is, by far, the all-time worst negotiator. He looks down on His creation, to whom He owes nothing, and yet, He gives everything. Though buried in our debts, unwilling and unable to do a deal with Him, God loved us so much He paid our obligations with His own blood–taking all our sin, shame, death, and consequences–and in its place, gave us His own grace and glory.
A somewhat ironic aspect of generosity in the first century was that to receive a gift put you back in debt. Not a legal, financial debt, but the debt of reciprocity: giving was expected to beget giving. Reciprocity isn’t as deeply ingrained in us, but still, we know that to ask a favor risks having to return one–and sometimes avoid them for that reason.
To receive God’s radical, costly generosity makes us indebted to Him. What does God require with that debt? That we live like everything we have is his. Specifically, that we show the same costly generosity to others.
We tend to hear “generosity” and think of money. The charge to give cheerfully and sacrificially is often interpreted as giving away a portion of our income, which is certainly a good thing! But looking at the sweat on Jesus’ brow, the nails in His hands, the heaving of His chest as He gasps for breath, I have to wonder, is 10% pretax the sacrificial generosity God has in mind?
A call to costly generosity does not mean that God is against nice things, striking a good deal, or our success. Nor does it necessarily mean He wants us to be a doormat or hold no private property. It could mean a vow of poverty, but it doesn’t have to. It certainly includes our finances, but radical generosity doesn’t stop there: it shifts our whole view of our resources to one of abundance and accountability.
God insists we have a mentality of abundance, not scarcity. When we know that everything we have is His and comes from Him, we live differently. We are freed from having to fight for the best deal for ourselves because it has already been made on our behalf. We are freed from having to protect our time, our assets, or our status, because everything is a gift to begin with. And the best news is this: He has not and will not stop giving. He can’t–the cross shows us that generosity is not what He does; it’s who He is.
Generosity also means accountability. Jesus makes it clear in the parable of the talents that stewarding someone else’s things means giving an account. We don’t get to pat ourselves on the back because of the one time we did one generous thing; God gives all, and He requires all. It is not something He asks us to do; generosity is something He forms us to be.
We can never reciprocate Christ’s gift to us, but we can take one small step forward. Maybe this week it’s examining our patterns of generosity. Is there a person I could include because it’s the right thing to do? Are there less adversarial terms I could take in that business deal? Could I cut back my spending and increase my giving? Could I replace an hour of self-care with an hour of caring for the kingdom?
If the Crucifixion is our model, we shouldn’t expect generosity to be easy, but if the Resurrection is our goal, we can expect it to bring abundant life. This week, may our hearts find a deeper gratitude and indebtedness than they have before, and may our hands follow.
*I got the idea that God is a terrible negotiator from someone else and would absolutely cite if I could, but I can’t remember where I read it. Let me know if you’ve heard it before!
Links and Things:
This poem/prayer for Ash Wednesday by Jan Richardson has been an incredible blessing to me. Her work is somewhere in between written prayers and poetry but always, as she titles it, a blessing.
“…did you not know what the Holy One can do with dust?”Generous Giving is an organization committed to helping Christians explore and grow in their generosity. They’ve helped me think strategically about this topic in my own life.
God and Money by John Cortines and Gregory Baumer is very helpful for examining and growing specifically in financial mindset and generosity.
In Real Life:
Bookshelf: I’m reading a lot about the Daughter of Zion for my academic work right now while also listening to Beth Moore’s memoir on audiobook, narrated in her own delightful accent. (To be clear, not at the same time!) I’ve been struck by the Old Testament’s account of the ups and downs of Israel through the personification in one woman, DoZ, as I now call her, juxtaposed by Beth’s account of the ups and downs of the life of one imperfect but faithful woman. If nothing else, it has been quite the encouragement as I reflect on my own life.
A moment in time:
Thanks for reading!
I just finished Beth Moore's book on Audible and loved it. Seeing God work in her life and the lives of her loved ones, the ups, the downs, was beautiful!