Giving & Receiving
“And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only.”—Philippians 4:15 (ESV)
The Christmas season is a time of giving, but it also a time of receiving. By nature, I enjoy giving to other people. As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”—Acts 20:35c. What is curious about this passage is that Jesus never said that we were NEVER to receive. He simply said, “It is more blessed to give THAN to receive.” There is a very important distinction here, because when we are so intent to give, believing that only in giving is there any joy, we distort the scripture and set ourselves up for the great sin of pride. Pride says that we can only be the initiator of blessing to others, the captains of our own spiritual destiny, placing ourselves in positions of spiritual superiority over others. But, when we set ourselves up only as givers, then we are cutting ourselves off from receiving some very great and real blessings.
A Christian is one who gives AND receives. In today’s passage, we have the great apostle Paul commending the church at Philippi for entering to a partnership with him that allowed for both giving AND receiving. The mature believer knows that they cannot live the Christian life by themselves, in a position of spiritual power all the time, dispensing their accumulated wisdom to everyone without ever needing any help, advice, instruction, or love from any one else. Think of this logic and how it played out in the Apostle Peter’s life. During the last supper, Jesus takes off His outer garment; grabs a basin and a towel and then begins to wash the disciples’ feet. He makes His way to Peter and before He is able to wash his feet, Peter says, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” (John 13:6). To which Jesus responds, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me” (John 13:7). Peter didn’t want to be a recipient of Jesus’ humbling act. He wanted to GIVE to Jesus, but not RECEIVE from Him. What can we GIVE to God that He does not already have? We come to Jesus Christ giving ourselves in our brokenness and sin surrendering the dirty parts of our lives like Peter did. And once we do, we have to be ready to RECEIVE His cleansing. We give to Christ our sin and we receive His salvation. We give ourselves in service and obedience, but we also receive the generosity, kindness, and sacrifice of others.
What are the idols that are keeping us from asking for help? What are the excuses that we are fostering? Maybe we think others are too busy, or they wouldn’t want to help, or maybe we don’t think that they are in a position to help. We cannot presume upon the grace of God! Some of the most giving people give out of their poverty! God has gifted them to give and they delight in doing so! Do not deny someone an opportunity to give and serve the Lord by giving and serving you!
I pray that this Christmas season will be both a time of giving and receiving. I pray that the giving and receiving we experience will involve more than simply giving gifts, but giving our lives to Christ first and then to one another. So this Christmas season, give because of what Christ has done in you and receive because of what Christ wants to give to you. Amen.
The Christmas season is a time of giving, but it also a time of receiving. By nature, I enjoy giving to other people. As Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”—Acts 20:35c. What is curious about this passage is that Jesus never said that we were NEVER to receive. He simply said, “It is more blessed to give THAN to receive.” There is a very important distinction here, because when we are so intent to give, believing that only in giving is there any joy, we distort the scripture and set ourselves up for the great sin of pride. Pride says that we can only be the initiator of blessing to others, the captains of our own spiritual destiny, placing ourselves in positions of spiritual superiority over others. But, when we set ourselves up only as givers, then we are cutting ourselves off from receiving some very great and real blessings.
A Christian is one who gives AND receives. In today’s passage, we have the great apostle Paul commending the church at Philippi for entering to a partnership with him that allowed for both giving AND receiving. The mature believer knows that they cannot live the Christian life by themselves, in a position of spiritual power all the time, dispensing their accumulated wisdom to everyone without ever needing any help, advice, instruction, or love from any one else. Think of this logic and how it played out in the Apostle Peter’s life. During the last supper, Jesus takes off His outer garment; grabs a basin and a towel and then begins to wash the disciples’ feet. He makes His way to Peter and before He is able to wash his feet, Peter says, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” (John 13:6). To which Jesus responds, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with Me” (John 13:7). Peter didn’t want to be a recipient of Jesus’ humbling act. He wanted to GIVE to Jesus, but not RECEIVE from Him. What can we GIVE to God that He does not already have? We come to Jesus Christ giving ourselves in our brokenness and sin surrendering the dirty parts of our lives like Peter did. And once we do, we have to be ready to RECEIVE His cleansing. We give to Christ our sin and we receive His salvation. We give ourselves in service and obedience, but we also receive the generosity, kindness, and sacrifice of others.
What are the idols that are keeping us from asking for help? What are the excuses that we are fostering? Maybe we think others are too busy, or they wouldn’t want to help, or maybe we don’t think that they are in a position to help. We cannot presume upon the grace of God! Some of the most giving people give out of their poverty! God has gifted them to give and they delight in doing so! Do not deny someone an opportunity to give and serve the Lord by giving and serving you!
I pray that this Christmas season will be both a time of giving and receiving. I pray that the giving and receiving we experience will involve more than simply giving gifts, but giving our lives to Christ first and then to one another. So this Christmas season, give because of what Christ has done in you and receive because of what Christ wants to give to you. Amen.
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