Unbelievable Giver!

“Or,” Paul says, “One more in the comparison-to-love category (1 Cor 13:3):

Let’s say I’m an unbelievable giver.

I just give away everything I have to those in need. I meet their needs through my gifts.

And wait, there’s more! I do not just give away what I have, but I give my entire self up for God’s service. Think: missionary service; that’s what a lot of people consider to be the ultimate giving-away (I am Paul, after all! The famous Missionary Man! Don’t Forget: I took three missionary journeys! They weren’t exactly AAA Vacations…). I mean,

I give it all away and give it all up, I don’t hold anything back—

            No possessions

            No personal relationships

I say goodbye to parents, grandparents, and would do so to children (if I had any)

                        Nothing held back!

And actually this is something that I could really boast about if I wanted to! And it would be really easy to tell others how great I am in just laying everything aside in my service to God!

But if I don’t demonstrate God’s agape love to others—the deep down, sacrificial, put-God-and-others-above-myself-kind-of-love—

Then all of my giving would result in a big fat goose egg in the credit category. What I thought I was gaining by giving, I was actually losing, because the main ingredient in giving, which is love, would be missing.“