Charity and Its Fruits
love, is done with delight, and not grudgingly or with backwardness and reluctance of spirit. "Use hospitality," says the apostle (1 Pet. 4:9 ), "one to another, without grudging;" and says Paul (2 Cor. 9:7 ) — "Every man, according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." This requisite or qualification for our doing good, is much insisted on in the Scriptures. "He that giveth," says the apostle (Rom. 12:8 ), "let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness." And God gives a strict charge (Deu. 15:10) that we "shall not be grieved" in our heart when we give to our neighbor. And, in a word, the very idea of giving acceptably is presented throughout the Bible as implying that we give with a cordial and cheerful spirit. Doing good freely also implies,
Third, that we do it liberally and bountifully. We are not to be scant and sparing in our gifts or efforts, but to be open-hearted and openhanded. We are to "abound to every good work" (2 Cor. 9:8-11 ), "being enriched in everything to all bountifulness." Thus God requires that when we give to the poor, we should "open our hand wide unto him" (Deu. 15:8); and we are told (Pro. 11:25 ) that "the liberal soul shall be made fat;" and the apostle would have the Corinthians be bountiful in their contributions for the poor saints in Judea, assuring them (2 Cor. 9:6 ) that "he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." Having thus explained the nature of this duty of freely doing good to others, I now proceed to show,
II. That a Christian spirit will dispose us thus to do good to others. — And this appears from two considerations: —
1. The main thing in that love which is the sum of the Christian spirit, is benevolence, or goodwill to others. — We have already seen what Christian love is, and how it is variously denominated according to its various objects and exercises, and, particularly, how, as it respects the good enjoyed or to be enjoyed by the beloved object, it is called the love of benevolence, and as it respects the good to be enjoyed in