Love delights to give. Tell me how much you give and I will tell you how much you love. Giving is the acid test of loving.

The greatness of God's love for us is demonstrated by His priceless gift to us. How much did God love a lost world? So much that He gave His only Son (Jn. 3:16). In Ephesians 5:25 we read, "Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her." Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, "The life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Just as God's loving and giving are inseparable, so too our giving is an expression of our love. This goes much deeper than just putting something in the offering plate on Sunday. It begins with giving ourselves to the Lord each day of the week.

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul commended the churches in Macedonia for their generous giving (vv.1-4). Their liberality was the result of their dedication to Christ, for Paul said that "they first gave themselves to the Lord" (v.5). When we do that, He then has all of us, including our possessions.

How much do you love? The answer can be seen in how much you love to give.  — M.R. De Haan