Wednesday, December 11, 2013

THE GREATNESS OF GIVING

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In Christ, Mark

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

A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.
Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts.

Proverbs 18:16, 19:6    

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

For the last week, we have been having some holiday fun at my workplace through our annual Secret Santa program. It is open to anyone who wants to participate and those who are interested are required to fill out a sheet of paper with questions about what they like. That piece of paper is then given to someone who unbeknownst to the person who filled out the sheet, the someone who becomes that person’s Secret Santa. As Secret Santa, you simply buy little gifts off the person’s list and then stealthily pass little gifts to the person in a way that doesn’t reveal your identity. By rule, that doesn’t happen until the building Christmas party where the Secret Santa reveals themself.

And so I have enjoyed the experience, not because I like Santa (more on that in a minute) but rather because I like giving. After all, Christmas is the time of giving, isn’t it? A time of giving as well as a time of receiving on many levels.

Maybe you’re like me and get great joy out of giving. This happens because we are Christians, not because of any mythical figure in a red suit riding in a sleigh with flying reindeer. We give with joy because we first received, we received the greatest gift of all as God the Father sent His Son to earth in the form of a tiny babe who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin in humble surroundings, a babe who would grow up to save us all. We give with joy, not because of Santa but rather because of another person who is referred to by an “s” word, Jesus, our Savior, the greatest gift ever who was the ultimate display of the greatness of giving.

In this Christmas season and beyond, we should give not because it feels good to do so, not because we feel compelled to do so, but rather because we exhibit God’s spirit of providing something for another as we give a gift and through our giving, we are ever remember of the gift He gave to us in Jesus, the Way and the Truth and the Life, the only One who lead us to a life eternal with the God who gave Him for us.

In writing to the church in Corinth, Paul had this to say about giving:

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

Indeed, God loves us to give for, as stated, we emulate His Spirit when we do so. In other words, people get a glimpse of the love and caring of their Maker when we freely and joyfully give to them a portion of what He first gave to us. The scriptures exhort is to give cheerfully, not reluctantly or out of compulsion. We are to give out of joy we gain through receiving the greatest gift ever. After all, what more could we ever ask for than the gift of everlasting life and pardon from our sins? Nothing on earth can compare with the greatest gift of all, Jesus, and when we share our gifts with others, we need to do so sharing the news of Jesus Christ, the greatest gift ever.

Our proverbs today give us two other reasons why we should give:

1. Our giving opens the door that leads to emulating Jesus. In other words, we become who we are supposed to be as Christians and that is Christ-like. Through this, we find ourselves giving and living in a way that is pleasing in His sight as we bask in the glow of His Spirit and thus the presence of His greatness.

A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great. Proverbs 18:16

2. God loves a cheerful giver. We know this as truth. But the one who receives loves the giver and sees them as a friend.

Many curry favor with a ruler, and everyone is the friend of one who gives gifts. Proverbs 19:6

In Jesus Christ, we have a friend, the only perfectly real and legitimate Friend who is closer to us than any sister or brother (Proverbs 18:24). We sing, “What a friend we have in Jesus!” and so He is. And when we model His love in giving self sacrificially to others, we find others seeing us as a friend, something that always opens the door to us introducing them to the best friend they will ever know: Jesus Christ, the One who gave us EVERYTHING.

Friends, this Christmas season is the season of giving and receiving, a season where we all have something to offer others. These lyrics of the Christmas classic, “In the Bleak Midwinter” highlight this fact:

What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a wise man, I would do my part
But what I can I give Him?
I give Him my heart

Friends, it’s as simple as that when it comes to giving. In its truest, purest sense, it doesn’t come in a box or a bag or a card. No, it comes from the love one has in their heart for others, for the greatness in giving comes in the spirit which accompanies the gift, the spirit of love from the heart best exemplified through God’s gift of Jesus Christ to save mankind, the real reason for the season.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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

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