The new song “Freely,” written and produced by the Abundant Life Worship Team, was birthed out of a desire to live generously. There are many songs about the concept of giving and surrendering our lives to Christ. Most songs proclaim the high cost of sacrificing everything. The posture behind “Freely” is different—it is to convey the essence of 2 Corinthians 9:7, “God loves a cheerful giver.” It is a call for us to have a heart filled with joy and cheer, freely giving ourselves in worship!
Why? Because God gave first!
“Freely” was written to be a response to God’s love, a song to be sung with enthusiasm and excitement in response to God’s generosity.
How Did God Freely Give to Us?
We love because He first loved us. We give because He first gave for us. God loves a cheerful giver because it reflects His heart—laying His own life down for our redemption.
This was the inspiration for the chorus:
Freely You gave so freely I give myself away
I lay it down I'm ready now Spirit come lead the way
Take control have it all Jesus I'm Yours today
Freely You gave so freely I give myself away
God doesn’t ask us to be a cheerful giver—to freely give—without modeling it through Jesus. We can joyfully surrender and cheerfully give, which doesn’t come naturally to our flesh, but can be experienced in our lives through the power of the Spirit.
The Story of “Freely”
A Cheerful Giver Knows the One Who Empowers
In Matthew 10:8, Jesus said, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give” (emphasis added). Jesus sent His disciples out on a mission to give freely. In this context, Jesus imputed His power to heal, cleanse, raise the dead, and cast out demons to His disciples.
There is more in this passage that many miss: Everything we claim as our own—our strength, influence, abilities, and possessions—has been given to us undeservedly. We are empowered only because God freely gives us the gift to accomplish His will. Even the breath in our lungs is a gift from God, and “in Him we live, and move, and have our being” (Acts 17:28).
Being a Cheerful Giver Isn’t Easy
Knowing this, however, doesn’t make giving easy. This truth flies in the face of our flesh, which tells us that everything we have is ours and compels us to hang onto this life. To this, Jesus says that if we want to find life, we need to take up our cross and follow Him. He calls us to lose this earthly life to gain a life far beyond anything we could ever imagine (Matthew 16:24-26).
How Do We Freely Give and Become a Cheerful Giver?
It's all about looking to Jesus. He led the way, set the tone, and showed us what it looked like. He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death (Philippians 2:8). He said yes to the will of the Father, even when He knew it would mean death (Luke 22:42). He did it all for the “joy that was set before Him” (Hebrews 12:2).
This was the heart behind these lyrics:
With joy I come for with joy you gave / I am oceans deep swimming in this grace
Responding as a Cheerful Giver to the One Who Freely Gives
When we understand the depths of what Jesus has already given and how greatly we’ve undeservedly received from His unfathomable sacrifice, saying yes to follow Him wherever He leads becomes easy. Why? Because we know it’s worth it. We come to a place of complete surrender, and not begrudgingly, but joyfully and cheerfully.
The heart behind these lyrics speaks of our response to the One who freely gives…
You left the glory of Your throne, so I’ll leave the comfort of my home /
Jesus I’ll follow where You go
What Is God Calling You to Do?
Jesus isn’t asking us to do anything He hasn’t already modeled for us. If He can step out of heavenly glory and lay down His sinless life for our redemption, how can we say no to what He’s calling us to do?
This calling to be a cheerful giver also inspired the chorus:
Freely you gave so freely I give myself away / I lay it down, I’m ready now, Spirit come lead the way / Take control, have it all, Jesus I’m Yours today
In response to who He is and all He has done, we say, “Yes!”—not half-heartedly and clinch-fisted, but with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength—as a cheerful giver.
Let us sing:
Open-handedly, wholeheartedly, I pour my life out to You as an offering
Being a cheerful giver is tied to worship. This is the kind of worshippers the Father is looking for—those who will worship in spirit and in truth – not forcefully or unwillingly, but passionately and joyfully in response to His leading. May we live with open hands and hearts fully yielded to the will and ways of the One who is worthy of it all, for our joy and His glory.
So then…
- Know that Jesus gave it all.
- Sing, “All to Him I owe.”
- Proclaim that you are washed as white as snow!
“’Come now, and let us reason together,’ says the Lord, ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.’”
—Isaiah 1:18
