Giving: Reciprocating God’s Grace
by Randy Alcorn
Click here to download the excerpt of this chapter.
“Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart.” John Wesley
“Grace and gratitude belong together like heaven and earth. Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace as thunder follows lightning.” Karl Barth
The most striking characteristic of the early Christians is that they shared all they owned, liquidating their possessions to give to the needy (Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37). In one verse we’re told, “Much grace was upon them all,” and in the next, “There were no needy persons among them.” Compare this description with that of Christ’s bickering disciples, jockeying for position and unwilling to wash each others’ feet (Mark 9:33-34, 10:35-41; Luke 9:46, 22:24; John 13:3-16). Radical giving demonstrates the life-changing power of God.
