I am called to help reach Muslims with the Gospel. But this is not a lone ranger type of mission. It is a corporate vision, and God supplies me with a team of partners to help fulfill it.
It would be tempting to think that I, as the beneficiary of my partners’ financial gifts, have the most to gain in this partnership.
Those givers actually gain heaps of blessing. Here’s what the Bible tells us about those who give.
God promises to increase the giver’s prosperity. As you give cheerfully, God promises to supply—in excess—for your own needs. “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11). Paul indicates that there is a connection between our giving unto the Lord and His generosity towards us.
Generosity is spiritually good for the giver. Paul describes generosity as a spiritual harvest that gets credited to the giver. “Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit” (Philippians 4:17). God does not forget our sacrificial offerings. He makes them yield generous spiritual fruit and He counts them towards our heavenly accounts.
Givers are co-owners in the ministry of furthering God’s kingdom. Paul credits the Philippians for their partnership in the gospel, naming them “partakers with me of grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel” (Philippians 1:7). He describes them as partners in the Gospel and co-owners not only in his labor, but also in his grace and joy.
When you join a worker’s support team, you get ownership in the work of furthering God’s kingdom. Your worker connects you to God’s work in parts of the world to which you may otherwise have no access. Take advantage of that privileged access, own your contribution to the ministry, and taste the goodness of its fruit.
Givers are encouraged and spurred on in the faith. I pray for my supporters. I have rejoiced with them through weddings, births, and victories. I have held their hands and cried with them as they face heartbreaks and life-threatening illnesses. When I meet with my supporters, I hope that “we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith” (Romans 1: 12).
If you think that generosity is primarily about blessing others, you are missing out. God intends to bless you and increase your inheritance through your financial gifts.
Are you giving generously? Which of these blessings can you take hold of today?
Original article: www.frontiersusa.org/blog/article/more-than-money-the-blessing-in-giving
