Big Hearted

An encouraging, warm–hearted read on the theology of generosity

Every Christian is called to give – of our money, our time, our talents – but how often do we give just because we feel we should? We resent the sacrifice of things we could enjoy ourselves, and the biblical idea of giving cheerfully seems almost impossible. Or we give because we know that it will make us feel good. Or because we want other people to think well of us. But this is not godly giving.

The motivation behind our giving is important. Giving, like everything else in the Christian life, begins with the two greatest commandments – to love the Lord our God with everything we have, and to love our neighbour as ourselves. Our cheerful, outrageous and extravagant generosity begins with unreservedly loving the God who has freely given us all things.

In this concise book, Joel Morris explains that our understanding and practice of generosity is based on our knowledge of God, as well as the condition of our own hearts. While many books explain that we should give, Morris dives into the why of giving.

Christians can afford to be generous because we have been given so much. Generosity overflows from our life in Christ. We are the recipients of amazing grace – we didn’t save ourselves, we simply said yes to the greatest gift.

Although we often think of money when we speak about giving, the theology that Morris lays out so clearly can be applied to many things in our lives. To name but a few, we can be generous in serving, in giving money, time and talent, in hospitality, food, stuff and good works.

The book’s conclusion encourages readers to think through how the theology of generosity applies to their everyday lives. To whom will the generosity of the gospel flow through us? In what ways can we show the heart of God to those we meet?

This is not a long book, but it is packed full of the encouragement we need to become big–hearted givers. Essential reading for every Christian, it will help you to see that rather than giving begrudgingly, we can rejoice in the opportunity we have to give as God gives – joyfully, sacrificially, and lovingly.

Contents

• Forewords by Michael Reeves, President of Union School of Theology and Daryl Heald, Founder of Generosity Path
• Preface by the author
• Introduction
• Overflowing God
• The Greatest Gift
• Cheerful Givers are Broken
• Playing God
• Conclusion