We often think of giving and provision as an element of generosity. Giving says something about the recipient (“you’re valued”), and when this giving costs us something it also says something about the giver (“I trust God”). When one gives up what they need in order to provide for others, that person demonstrates their faith (really courage) that God will then provide in the future, satisfying all needs.

Consider the ultimate sacrifice, where love motivated the deepest kindness, most costly generosity, embodied by the most courageous One:

“God takes action in Christ against sin, death, and the devil. The doctrine of justification is not about the workings of impersonal law in the universe, or about manipulating its outcomes, but it is about God. The moral law is simply the reflection of the character of God, and when God acts to address the outcomes of the broken moral law, he addresses these himself, himself taking the burden of his own wrath, himself absorbing in the person of Christ the judgment his righteous character cannot but demand, himself providing what no sinner can give, himself absorbing the punishment no sinner can bear and live.”¹

How does God provide for us? Through His relentless courage.

Why does God provide for us? Because He loves us.

Why are we moved to provide for others? Because we love them and trust God. Generosity and courage are relational. They’re easy to show in any language.