“Generous giving, whatever form that may take, is not a project or a special activity, rather it is the unfolding of the life of God in us. Put in Christological terms, the salvation that Christ brings is Christ’s life taking form and shape in us. As a consequence, the life of Christ is thus ‘repeated’ is us in a smaller or greater way.
Thus to be a self-giving servant in the reign of God is an expression of who we are as caught up in the life of the New Adam. Giving, generosity, and servanthood are first and foremost not practical activities and certainly not utilitarian, they are ontological. That means these responses are intrinsic to who we are as part of the new creation in Christ. This means that generosity is not an ‘extra’ in the life of the Christian. Instead, it is basic and intrinsic.”
Charles Ringma in a one-page paper entitled: “A Theology and Practice of Fundraising” as shared by Dr. Zenet Maramara, Director, Center for Biblical Stewardship at Asian Theological Seminary.
I reviewed this short paper at the request of a friend, Daryl Heald, who founded both Generous Giving in the USA and Global Generosity Movement, which seeks to stir up Christian generosity around the world.
I liked the article and am sharing this quote because I appreciate the ontological or “design” focus of his argument. In a sentence: Generosity is not about things we have done or do, but rather about something we are and become in Christ Jesus.
How is the reign of God reflected in your life and mine? Are we “self-giving servants” or as Ringma makes it personal elsewhere in the paper: “Is my generosity merely the left-overs of my selfish life-style?”