Great Expectations

Expectations are a funny thing. We all have them. Sometimes they are met, often they are not. Sometimes we are very direct in sharing our expectations. Other times we take the back door approach and hint at what we’re after. But what we all love is the experience that exceeds our expectations. It’s a beautiful thing when we are blown away by something far better than we anticipated. As believers we are called to exceed expectations. Paul invited the Corinthian church to “excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us.” Awesome! But here’s the punch line: “see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (2 Corinthians 8:7).

And with this simple exhortation a theological concept is born!  To exceed expectations in “this grace of giving” is to live lives marked by generosity. This lies at the very heart of our Christian faith. Generosity in the lives of God’s people is a living parable of the Gospel. It is a means of expressing what we have experienced in our relationship with a benevolent God. He spared no expense in creating, loving and redeeming us in Christ. The extravagant love of God is embraced and mirrored by those it has truly touched. A life seized by God’s radical, redeeming love will never be content to give just enough!

Interestingly the words gift and grace share a point of origin. The oft-quoted definition of grace is “unmerited favor.” And we all know that true gifts are offered with no thought of reciprocation. So the essence of generosity (giving and gracing in abundance) debunks some of our misconceptions about giving. We do not give in order to receive – regardless of what you might hear on the religious channels. And we do not give to merely meet a budget – regardless of what you might hear from the finance team. Giving is not about enriching my life or fulfilling a moral obligation. Giving generously is about unleashing the power of the Gospel in order to transform the world by demonstrating the heart of God. And he does not love us 10%!