It Is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive

Scriptures: Remembering the words the Lord Jesus Himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

My friend and his family came to Los Angeles for ministry matters. They stayed with their daughter during their visit. One afternoon, I went to pick him up for meetings. As soon as he got in the car, he joyfully commented, “I think my daughter has grown up. She’s not a taker now. She’s a giver now. With her busy work schedule, she sees to it that we are well taken care of and that her younger brother does his homework.” He said so with a smile of content.

Yes, giving is an attribute of maturity. Someone used to say, “Men get and forget. God gives and forgives.” It is so true! The more willing one is to give, the more Christ-like one becomes. Giving enables us to switch the focus in life from ourselves to other people.

I still remember, when my children were little boys, we took them for birthday gifts shopping for their friends, cousins or siblings. We did so, not just for the sake of celebrating birthdays, but also for teaching our children an important lesson of giving.

When we took them out for shopping, we usually asked them a question, “What do you think are the things they like?” For some close friends, they could answer this question in seconds. For others, it will take them a lot longer and, sometimes, even no answers. But, the purpose of training to think in terms of others’ needs was achieved.

Bible says that love “builds up” (I Corinthians 8:1) and “is not self-seeking.” (I Corinthians 13:5) The focus of true love, the agape godly love, is on other people. Giving is simply an appropriate act of showing such focus in life.

Giving is also an expression of love. Giving is an act of sharing with others what we have. Jesus did exactly so. When Paul talked about the grace of our Lord Jesus, he said “though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.” (II Corinthians 8:9)

The ultimate giving of all was the giving of Himself, our Lord Jesus. And, this is what Apostle Paul said about this giving, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Paul, in essence, said that God showed how much He loves us through the giving of His only begotten Son, Christ Jesus, on the cross.

Jesus said that He came so we “might have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10). This blessing of abundance in life has been given us in various forms: a good job, family and loved ones, a nation where we can practice our faith without fear, gifts and talents, opportunities of education, material possessions, brothers and sisters with whom we fellowship in Christ, and so much more. With all the riches bestowed upon us, I believe God intended them for more than our personal enjoyment. We have been chosen as the vessels to share these blessings with others in need so Christ may be exalted in our life.

This is especially true when we see so many people around the world suffering from wars and natural disasters, poverty and injustice, and persecutions and hopelessness. People need Jesus! But, until we are willing to give, they will have no way of knowing Him personally. Whatever we have are gifts from God and we are expected to freely give for gifts out of love are offerings pleasing to our Lord and Redeemer!

Prayer Requests:
For comforts and support to those in need of material as well as spiritual help

Prayer:
Father, we want to first of all give thanks to You for all the more than abundant provisions for us. Please allow us to lift up all the people suffering from earthquakes, cyclones, wars, poverty and all kinds of inhuman and unjust depravations to You. We ask that You remember the precious blood of our Lord Jesus on the cross and move and mobilize all Your children to step up to the calling of giving, giving of love, time, expertise, and most of all living testimonies to the love and grace of our Lord Jesus, to those who are living in the shadow of death and hopelessness. In the loving name of our Lord Jesus we pray, Amen!