Paul invites us not to be stingy in giving and to sow what is good; he calls this process “sowing generously” because in fact it is, through us, a divine giving. He clarifies that the heart is the giver because the divine call that pushes us towards others is what pushes us to give. Those others are our joy and we become complete through them. Therefore he says: “God loves a cheerful giver”.
If we just consider the act of giving our money, we should feel happy because of the console that the receiver gets. We are thankful for those who accept our giving and feel happy towards their joy. When we reach them, we would be getting closer to God and becoming people that are for God.
When we give, graces shall descend on us from God. These graces make you “in all things at all times, having all that you need”. If the grace was poured from above, we would stop being in need of anything because nothing is greater than God’s grace that puts in us joy and revival. If we accepted this grace that comes from above we “will abound in every good work”. Through these words, the apostle confirms that every work cannot be “good” unless it was inspired by God; this would make us aware of our benefits and obedient for God’s will that we know through inspiration.
After these words, apostle Paul wanted to clarify an aspect of this “good work” so he quotes an expression from the Psalms: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever”. Jesus has a special love towards the poor because they have considered that the Lord is their wealth and because those who believe among them taste God instead of food. He who gives the poor would be liberated from considering money as the center of his life. The others would be his axis or center. You taste God in the poor; you see Him in them. How could you meet God in this world if you didn’t meet Him through people? Those who are in need for Him are His visage, and you would be heading towards His visage once you loved them. After that, the apostle goes back to the beginning of this passage and clarifies that “he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed”. He assures that He will “increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness”. The seeds that you sow are His seeds. Everything comes from His graces. If you obeyed Him you would be acknowledging that this is all from His grace. Your will to do what is good cannot be activated unless He gave you His gratification. He descends to you through His love and you would become His sons and would carry His giving and would be given from His giving.
With the divine gifts that descent on you, you would “be enriched in every way”. You will have no more spiritual poverty. If the Lord was in you with all His power, then you have no more space for anyone else or any other need. This pushes you to be generous and not stingy in any aspect of giving. This pure generosity “will result in thanksgiving to God”. If you recognized that everything you do is a gift, you must admit that. Your soul will be full of thanksgiving to God and you would receive a grace from His generous hands.
Translated by Mark Najjar
Original Text: “العطاء” –Raiati 41- 07.10.2012
