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“... It is more blessed to give than to receive”
| Bro Neil Todd (New Zealand)
T
hese precious words Paul gave to the Eph-
esians in Acts 20:33 appear as a reported
saying of the Lord Himself - so powerful in
their import! They challenge every Believer
and are contrary or opposed to our human na-
ture. The ultimate example is Jesus who, in
His lifetime, “Gave all and took nothing.”
Here are two basic paraphrases taken from the
Apostle Paul:
“To work for the benefit of others
as well as your own needs”
“To be careful not to covet
the things of others”
These two ideals are fundamental to our daily
life and if practiced, will take us part way to
following the Lord.
Our thoughts then are now being directed to
the joy of giving! Not “shutting up those inner
feelings of human compassion.”
We need to see ‘giving’ as an investment, to
the Glory of God - not as a personal cost!
Abundantly
- another wonderful word about giving
We might explain this simply as being gener-
ous, over-supply, overflowing, unrestricted
and without limits.
We look first to the very example of God Him-
self! Everything we see in both the natural and
spiritual world is given “in abundance” and to
all. Jesus draws attention to this unrestrained
quality of our Father in Heaven who first gives
His sunshine and His rain to all, to meet their
needs, regardless of their responses! (Matt
6:45) then in spiritual needs, in the matter of
faith, we read, “He gives generously and gra-
ciously to all.” (James 1:5). Eternal Life itself
is to come, as Jesus says, ‘more abundantly’
as only Heaven can provide (John 10:10).
We can become children of our Father!
The family likeness begins in Exodus 34:6, ‘He
is full of compassion, pity and shows great
love’ from the beginning! It continues in ‘full
strength’ in the like example of the Lord Jesus
Christ on a daily basis. On more than one oc-
casion we read, of the Lord’s motive, “He was
moved with compassion...when he saw...”
Compassion
– the one acceptable motive
Here we must face self-examination. The
world ‘gives’ sometimes with mixed motiva-
tions and other reasons. The Believer can only
be driven by a pure, God-like motive. “To give
- not expecting return,” is the one way!
Timing is all important
James has another appropriate comment.
“What good is there in you saying….God bless
you, if you don’t give them the necessities of
life?” Here, now is the key to successful
giving. I like the adverb, ‘spontaneously’ when
gifting. Remember, Exodus 35:5. Here Moses
calls to the nation for ‘a wide range gifts’ to
go into the tabernacle.
The response was immediate – Israel gave
abundantly. Who didn’t, who couldn’t? Who
were empty? ... Why, those who had earlier
given of their possessions, ‘gold’ to Aaron for
the wrong motive and reason. Their gold was
simply destroyed and blown away! (Daniel
2:35 too). The same spirit was shown by the
The example of God HIMSELF
The example of the Lord Jesus Christ
The example among the Believers
~ continued ...