More Blessed to Give...

"It Is More Blessed to Give Than to Receive?" Acts 20:32-35 As I was preparing for Deb Barrett’s funeral, many thoughts came across my mind, but one I kept in reserve for today. I would think it is fair to say that Deb would embrace this scripture that "It is more blessed to give than to receive?" But where in the Gospels does it say that? I'll give anyone $100 to find it. How can I make such an offer? 'Cause it isn't there. It isn't anywhere else in the Bible other than here in Acts. Yet, it is one of the most quoted scriptures in the Bible. Now wouldn't you wonder why? As to its origins, we are aware that a lot of what Jesus said, went unrecorded; we just have no record of it. For example, what He said as He met the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is not recorded, though we know He, "opened the scriptures to their understanding." However, that it was not recorded, lends no weakness to the fact that it was said. We pass around other people's statements all the time. Have you ever told somebody what another person said? Sure you have. It is the most used way of communication civilization has; it is called "word of mouth." Anyway, what this passage of Jesus' may mean to us, is the important matter today. What it may suggest is a summary of Jesus' teaching. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." Now - the world may say something else. An old Greek poet, Athenaeus by name, once wrote, "Demosthenes has fifty talents; happy is he if he shares it with no one." Know anybody who employs that philosophy today, who‘s kind of stingy? Here’s another one; "Metrocles has received much money. Foolish is he who gives. Fortunate is he who receives." Even though these snippets of classic Greek culture are ancient, their conviction is still most current, and contrary to what Jesus says, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." In a half-dozen words, Jesus sets forth the wisdom of God. Happier is the person who spends his days giving; giving what he has and what he is, than the person who is afraid that what he has will be taken from him, or what he is may be rejected. At the holidays or on special occasions, we will sometimes call to mind those things for which we may be thankful, and have the incentive to give something in return or just give a gift out of love and kindly feelings, to exchange favors, if you will. When we see others suffer from disasters, again, we may employ the adage of Jesus, to give to their need and not expect anything in return. As we consider the times and reasons for our giving, I have found that there are three levels, or stages 2 involved in giving and receiving and being thankful. At the holidays and especially at times of disaster, we tend to remember the less fortunate, seeking to provide them food and goods they may need, to do something kind and generous. All year through, we have opportunities to give, beyond giving to the church, to give in order to lessen someone's burden. Talking to a pastor friend of mine, I asked him what "it is more blessed to give than to receive" meant to him? After a lengthy pause, he said, "You know, Phil, that's where I feel I fall down. I'll give a little something here and a little something there, but we are really overlooking the greater need of most people." To say it is more blessed to give than to receive appeals to our sense of charity and to be charitable is in itself a reward. We get, or should get, a different kind of joy out of giving than we do receiving. This kind of giving and receiving, though, is only for temporal, material things. As generous as some of it may be, or as selfish as it may become on the receiving end, it is all superficial. It is only the first level of giving. When we give what we have and what we are, that is when we begin to follow the example of Jesus. Consider Jesus saying this from out of His circumstances. I can imagine Jesus living a pretty lonesome life. His father probably died when he was a young adolescent. One of His best friends, John the Baptist, was brutally killed in young adulthood. His mother and family were embarrassed of Him and told Him so publicly. His disciples all left Him in the hour of His greatest need. He received little except hardship from most anybody you can name. Yet, He is remembered as saying, "It is more blessed to give than to receive." When we can give, while under hardship and duress, rejection, poverty or need, then we enter a second level of giving. Sometimes, we can get close to it, when we see the hardships of others and give to relieve some of it, despite our own hardships. Recently, some friends of mine were having a difficult time. One had some grave physical pain, another had a heavy burden for a loved one, and another had some serious financial concerns. I could feel their pain, their burden, and their impoverishment. I was close to them and I wanted to give to them something, anything, to provide some relief for them, but I couldn't. I couldn't take their pain away. I couldn't make the loved one better. I couldn't pay off their bills. But I could be there to share, to pray, to lend my heart and hand. I tried to give one 3 of them a couple of dollars, which was only given back. Wanting to give and being frustrated not being able to, hurts. That's a hardship, too, we may actually ache for someone. But that ache is not nearly the hardship these friends suffered, who with their friendship, gave to me more than they may ever know. Out of their friendship, they allowed me their company and the privilege of sharing their pain. We entered that second level of giving and receiving. The first level has more to do with giving what you have. The second level has more to do with giving who you are. Giving what you have and who you are, to extend brotherly and sisterly love to those in need who are friends and strangers alike, is a joy only enhanced when it is received by the other. It is nice to be on the receiving end once in awhile, but it is great when you can transfer the giving of yourself to meet some need within another person. When they receive what you have and who you are, you have graduated to the second level. We can be thankful for the material benefits of this life and count our blessings one by one. We can be even more thankful for the deeper insights of friendships and family, for the intimacies and intensities of life and loving that we can share. We still, though, have only gotten to the second level. The final level of Jesus' proverb, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," comes from His own experience. Whereas we may be at wit’s end being unable to give to someone's inner need, Jesus is able to meet that need, that hardship, that weakness. Can you hear Him say, after all He went through, after the Resurrection, after His victory, "It is more blessed to give than to receive?" Now the true meaning and depth of the imperative is revealed. I can hear all of heaven rejoice as you and I come to know Jesus as our saving Lord. Where our caring ends, where our prayers say “Amen”, where our love for each other to meet another's needs concludes, Jesus just begins! He can meet you where you are to see you through and in the end, be there with you on the other side.