Giving is Love in Action

Author: Neil Keena | Category: Love

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The Scriptures reveal an amazing fact about His love. The truth you'll discover is that God's love is always expressed through giving. I like to say it this way, "Giving is love in action." Let me prove it from God's Word.

God Expresses Love Through Giving

John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Notice here that God did not demonstrated His love for the world by shouting from heaven, "I love you". No, He demonstrated His great love for us by giving us His Son.

1 John 4:9-10: In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

God's love was made known (manifested) to us through His act of giving. The giving of Jesus by God was love - it was love in action. It is what makes God's love tangible and real to us; it gives us a way to measure His love for us. If all God ever did was say "I love you" we would never really know how much or to what extent. But by God's love expressed through giving, we are able to experience and begin to comprehend that love.

There are so many scriptures that prove Jesus expressed His love for us by giving His life. I don't have the room to quote them all in this letter, but I encourage you to read these scriptures before continuing: Rom 5:8, Eph 5:25, Eph 5:2, Gal 1:4, Gal 2:20, 1 John 3:16, Titus 2:14, Titus 3:4-7, Matt 20:28.

Now, take a look at this scripture:

Isaiah 43:4: Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.

Notice what God is saying, I have loved you, therefore I will give. God loves therefore He gives. This is the very nature of God's love!

Love Like God

Based on everything we've discussed so far and all the scriptures we read, I believe we can clearly see that God expresses His love through giving. Now the bible tells us that we are supposed to love the same way (1 John 4:11, John 15:12-13).

1 John 3:16-18: By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

You have not expressed love until you have given. This scripture is saying if we don't demonstrate the love of God by giving, we haven't demonstrated anything. It is a good thing to tell someone you love them, but that alone is not enough.

James 2:15-16: If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Depart in peace, be warmed and filled," but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?

So if we're ever going to demonstrate the true Love of God, then we're going to have to be givers.

Put Love Into Action

Romans 12:9a (KJV): Let love be without dissimulation.

The word dissimulation means hypocritical talk or saying something you don't really mean. We don't want to give God or people lip service. Saying you love God but not obeying his commandments is love with dissimulation. Saying you love someone but never giving to them is hypocritical talk. Saying "I love you" hasn't proven anything. Mean what you say by proving it through action.

The Holy Spirit spoke this phrase to me, He said, "We demonstrate our Love for God through obedience. We demonstrate our love for people through giving." Isn't that a great way to sum it up!

Laying Your Life Down

So how do we do this? Well, the primary way we are to give is by laying our lives down. Let's look at 1 John 3:16 again.

1 John 3:16: By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Jesus gave Himself; He gave His life to us by laying His life down. We are commanded to love one another just like Jesus loved us. That means we are to lay down our own lives. This doesn't mean we have to die physically for someone. We should give of ourselves to others. It is not just the giving of physical gifts that qualifies, but it is in the giving or your time, attention, and energy - your life. That is what laying your life down means.

One way we lay down our lives is by preferring the other person. When you prefer someone over yourself, you are left out. In other words, you gave up what you wanted so that they could have it.

Romans 12:10 (KJV): Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.

When we understand that Love is expressed through giving, we can better understand what Jesus was talking about in Matthew chapter five.

Mathew 5:38-45: "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."

In this scripture, Jesus is not telling us that it's His will for people to use and abuse us. No, Jesus is trying to demonstrate that we should be on the giving side of life!

The Giving/Forgiving Side of Life

Here are some more ways we can be on the giving side of life:

1. Pray for others (Rom 12:19-21, 1 Tim 2:1-2). David practiced this (Ps. 109:3-5).
2. Forgive others.

Forgiving is actually an act of giving. Love has an open hand. It holds nothing back. When you don't forgive someone, you are holding something against them. Love doesn't do that. Love let's go.

The word forgive means to cancel a debt, obligation, or to give up all claim on account of. The root of the word actually stems from the word give with the prefix for added to it. For means away, off, to the uttermost. Give means to present voluntarily and without expecting compensation. So, to forgive means to voluntarily, without expecting compensation, cancel the debt of wrong doing that the other person owes you and put it the furthest away from you.

In light of everything we've studied, consider this scripture:

Luke 6:38 (KJV): Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

If you will read the scripture above in context with the surrounding scriptures (Luke 6:27-38) you will realize that giving has much more to do than just money. You'll discover that giving is love in action!