Thought for Thursday, April 18th

April 18, 2013

Thank You Giving

  I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Acts 20:35

“Behold I do not give lectures or a little charity,

When I give I give myself.”

-          Walt Whitman

If a man gives a gift that has cost him nothing of himself, is it truly a gift or just a token offering?

The answer to the question above could probably be debated and a consensus might never be reached: but as a Christian, we need to be challenged to consider the gifts that we give. For them to truly be honorable and pleasing to God, they must contain at least a token of ourselves and need to be affected by the heart behind the reason for which they are given.

Jesus told us that if we give a naked man an item of clothing or a thirsty person a cup of water it is the same as giving these things to Him.  And how easy for us is it to give an extra shirt or a cup of water away to someone in need: it is rather painless: but the true gift involved in this giving is the time and the attention and the heart felt desire to make a difference in that life that should be behind the act of giving.

It is easy to give birthday presents or Christmas gifts to people we care for: but as Christians we are called to go beyond the mere giving of token gifts of affection to the giving of love, peace, hope and joy that comes from within us to make a difference in the world and in the lives of those around us.

It is in giving of what we are because of who Christ is in us that makes the gift we give a gift of thankfulness.  In a sense it is in the giving that we are recognizing the magnitude of what we have received and by so doing give a portion of it away and each time we pass it on or pay it forward, if you will, we are giving thanks to God  for the multitude of the blessings we have received.

And when we give to be a blessing to others we can not help but receive a multitude of blessings in return.

While it is truly much more of a blessing to give: I somehow doubt that anytime we give out of a heart of love and sharing Christ in us: we will ever experience a time when the blessing we receive is not equal to or greater than the blessing we have given.

Prayer:

Father, often I feel I have so little to give: but help me remember all that I have and all that I have received from you and because of that I have much to give thanks for and to give to others to bless them in the way that I have been blessed.