When considering God’s sanctifying work in our lives, we can consider how He is changing us to reflect His attributes more fully. Two of those attributes are that He is generous and abundant in dealing with and in providing for us. In fact, in 1 Timothy 6, Paul says we should set our hope on God “who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” In 2 Corinthians 9, we are told, “you will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”
God begins the process (He provides us with everything) and then, as we are enriched in every way, we are called to be generous in every way. As we practice that generosity, the God-honoring response is thanksgiving to God by both the receiver and the giver. Then, as God receives the thanksgiving, the circle is completed because the praise is directed back to Him. We learn to continue being generous and live in the abundance mentality of the gospel life. God keeps providing us with everything needed for His purposes, and so the process of becoming like our Father continues.
As Jesus-followers, we are all on this giving journey. It is a wrestling match that will continue until our earthly race is complete. With each giving opportunity, we need to discern whether God is calling us to meet an immediate need, or if His resources placed in our stewardship are for needs in our lives or the lives and gospel work of others at another particular time. These decisions require praying, listening to the Holy Spirit, and responding accordingly.
Pastor Massey recently preached on Matthew 6.21, and one of the phrases says, “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Another way to say it is: where your treasure flows, there your heart will be drawn. God doesn’t call us to simply give where and when we feel like it, but to give toward the work for which He cares and then watch Him transform our hearts to care about that same work.
In the book True Riches, by Cortines and Baumer, the case is made that God seems to care about three main topics throughout Scripture: Evangelism, Discipleship, and Caring for the Poor. The authors also suggest that if we want to care about what God cares about, then we should consider directing our gifts of time, talent, and treasure toward these same gospel-focused works. Perhaps you could consider looking at your giving and see how your stewardship of God’s resources aligns with God’s heart in these areas.
Giving is an act of worship to our Father, the Provider. While I’d love to tell you that all your giving should go to CPC as your primary place of worship, that is not what Scripture says. It also doesn’t say that you should give away everything you have. That’s the beauty of this issue. It’s not about creating checkboxes of obedience. Generosity is a heart issue. We are given the opportunity to see a need and then to seek our Father’s guidance, understand our Father’s desires, and give out of thanksgiving for all He has done for us and given to us while trusting in Him for our ongoing provision - our daily bread.
As you consider year-end giving, knowing the needs of CPC provides an opportunity to prayerfully seek the Lord for how you might help meet this particular need with part of your giving. The CPC operating budget for 2024 is $1,780,340. Through your generosity, God has already provided $1,278,697.79 for CPC through November 3. Would you consider how God might be calling you to help meet the remaining need of $501,642.21 by December 31?
As you pray about any additional giving you might direct toward our church’s need, please simply obey whatever God puts before you as your part in this opportunity. For those that have given already, we thank God for you! God has abundantly provided for this local church, and I trust He will continue to do so, through you, for His glory and the work of His Church. May we all continue on this journey of being transformed into the likeness of our Father in Heaven.
Jason Coffey, CPC Elder
