Freely you have received

“Freely you have received, freely give.” Matthew 10:8

God is a giver and He wants us to receive freely.  The key verse is a spiritual principle, the word  “freely” in Greek means undeservedly, that is, not earned or merited.

There are no strings attached when God lavishly gives us His good gifts including Jesus Christ. God does not expect us to return anything to Him, for we cannot outgive God.

In our natural state, we may give when we have spare or when we try to earn God's favor. We may give because of our indebtedness to God, as if we were bargaining with God, “seeing how much I have done for You and why You won't bless me with such and such.” In this way, we don't really practice freely giving as every giving is conditional.  As a result, we are under Law not under Grace.

In order to experience this spiritual principle, we must freely receive God’s grace in the first place. Possibly because of our deep sense of unworthiness or pride, it prevents us from receiving God’s grace and makes it difficult for us to proceed to the next step, “freely giving ”. 

So how to receive His grace grace? The answer is through faith.  “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

In addition to saving grace, God has given us many good gifts as well, including spiritual gifts, natural abilities, money, and resources, so let us freely receive and give with grace and love.

Blessing prayer: Thanks God for everything you give in Christ, for we receive Christ through faith.  May the grace of God help us recognize that every good gift comes from above, and it is not our own merit that earns your blessings. Let grace abound in our lives and deliver us from performing traps! In Jesus’s name,  Amen.