More Blessed to Give Than to Receive
It is very difficult to secure a COVID vaccination appointment. The demand is off the charts. Available spots are taken in a matter of seconds. I’ve heard countless stories of how frustrating it is being so close yet so far. Websites easily crash. Phone lines are jammed. Lines are too long. People want their vaccinations!
And in this frenzy I’ve been so encouraged how people are helping each other. One person shared with me the Facebook page- Maryland Vaccine Hunters. It is filled with examples of people providing tips, information, and even direct help to each other. And it has been so refreshing reading the comments. There is so much joy when helped. There is joy in the volunteers who help. There is joy observing the helping. What a beautiful picture!
And this is a great analogy for what the church should be! When Paul addressed the elders at the church of Ephesus he completes his speech with this sentence in Acts 20:35, “In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Paul charges the elders to exemplify what every member should live out- love for each other where the strong help the weak. In doing this, we experience the joy that it is more blessed to give than to receive. This especially coincides with what we give. More than a vaccination, Paul reminds the Ephesian elders that he proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it is this gospel that doesn’t merely save our bodies but saves our souls ultimately to be reunited with a glorified body.
It is my prayer that our church will be a place of great giving. We give of our time, our effort, our resources, our teaching of the Scripture, our proclamation of the gospel. Let us be generous givers for each other. For this is only natural for those who have infinitely received from the gospel grace of Jesus. Let us experience the glorious truth that it is more blessed to give than to receive. Amen