RECEIVING BY GIVING

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com.

In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses.

Proverbs 28:27

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

“Tis better to give than receive.”

Live long enough and you will hear people say it but I would bet you that many of them would not know the origin of the saying to include a large number who would not only claim to not be believers but even go as far to proclaim themselves as atheist. If they only knew they were quoting the very words of Jesus, the Lord and Savior of us all. Look at this excerpt from the scriptures:

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” Acts 20:35

The Apostle Paul, while speaking with the elders of the Ephesian church, imparted words of instruction and guidance from the Savior Jesus, the One at the center of the gospel truth and message he was spreading during his missionary journeys. At the heart of that instruction was an exhortation to care for the week, to freely give and not be self centered or selfish. It was a core principle that Jesus used in His teaching. You’ll recall He also said this regarding the topic:

 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left.

“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited Me in, I needed clothes and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you came to visit Me.’”

“Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? When did we see You a stranger and invite You in, or needing clothes and clothe You? When did we see You sick or in prison and go to visit You?’”

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of Mine, you did for Me.’”

“Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me.’”

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You?’”

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me.’”

“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” 

Matthew 25:31-46

Now, I think after reading this anyone in their right mind would definitely say that it’s better to look after those in need, those Jesus speaks as being the least, and find eternal life than not doing so and facing His judgment. It simply is better to give than receive on a lot of levels but particularly when we are considering our eternal future.

Well, Solomon predated Jesus with some words of wisdom from God to the readers of the proverbs. Look again at this verse regarding the matter of giving and receiving:

Those who give to the poor will lack nothing, but those who close their eyes to them receive many curses. Proverbs 28:27

Go back and revisit the word of Jesus.

Those who give freely to the poor, the least of these, will lack nothing. They will be blessed in the here and now and after death as they receive their part of the salvation inheritance.

Conversely, those who close their eyes to the needy, failing to show concern for others, will find themselves in receipt of curses which will conclude in damnation.

When we get right down to it, there’s a lot at stake, right?

All the more reason to be like Jesus and always give for by giving we find ourselves receiving His treasures of heaven, now and forever.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to OurChristianWalk@aol.com