Giving = overflow tangible grace to others

Day 5 = The birds & fish

On Day 5, God spoke forth the fish and the birds, followed by every other living animal (1:20-25). In the animals, we observe a new facet of the created order. We see relationships begin to take place— something that, until this point, hasn’t happened.

Animals began caring for each other in a special way, connecting in groups in a way different than how plants did. Whereas plants do have symbiotic relationships with one another, animals create habitats, gather food for their young, and give of themselves in a special way.

Some people have a true gift of giving— a way of extending of themselves in a way that overflows with life and grace. In the same way that parents don’t consider what they are “giving” when they tend to their young, these people never see it as a loss when they extend themselves to others— particularly when leveraging resources to empower someone else

Giving illustrated

King David is a prime example. 

He earnestly wanted to build a temple for God. However, the Lord promised him that the project wouldn’t happen in his time— that his kingdom would be firmly established, but that a son of his would build the Temple since he wasn’t so occupied with war as David had been. 

David’s response? 

He made all of the plans and raises all of the provisions for the temple so that the next generation can easily build something he will never see (see 1 Chronicles 28-29). He literally set Solomon up for immediate success on this project.