1 John 3:17
[17] But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
I do not think the two words that make up the title for this devotional go together. That is why you see the question marks that follow it. From what he has written in this verse, John obviously felt the same way. The truth is, that you cannot be a Christian, and live a stingy life. Christianity is all about giving, not keeping. Jesus taught us that in the Gospels. He taught us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. For us to save our life is to lose it, and to lose our life is to save it. The principle is, we get by giving, but notice how much we can keep.
If a child of God is filled with his love, he will have a desire to give. He will also be called on to give. We are not challenged to give out of our plenty, but to give out of our poverty. This means we are to give sacrificially as we see the need to give. Sacrificial giving is the only kind of giving that God and his Son knows. The reason the Father gave the Son, and the Son gave his life, was because of His love for us and our need of salvation. What great sacrifices were made for us to be saved.
After becoming a child of God, and experiencing his great love, how could we not exhibit the same toward others? How can someone hear the gospel, and not give to missions so that others will have the same opportunity they had? How can we have the means to help others, and pass them by, when He never passed us by. You might say, “but preacher, I know they have a need, and I have the goods, but the sacrifice is too great for me to make. It will cost me more than I am willing to give.” Really? He never said that to you. His sacrifice was greater. No sacrifice is too much of a sacrifice when dominated by love.