In one of his sermons the apostle Paul tells us that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). If this is true, and we believe it is, then it is a principle by which we must live.
Francis of Assisi says, “It is in giving we receive.” That means we don’t receive by receiving; we receive by giving. Then, the giving comes back to us in ways that only grace and mercy can explain. In contrast, Dorothy Solle wrote, "If my hands are fully occupied in holding on to something, I can neither give nor receive." Jesus sets us from the entanglement of it all.
How does Jesus work in our lives? He teaches us to give; to be givers. We live with open hands and un-clinched fists, and we do it because Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” It is how He lived His own life and it is the kind of life He instills is those of us who love Him and follow Him.
As we give in response to His self-giving, the Spirit of the Lord works through us and makes us to be Bridge-builders and Grace-Givers in our living, our interactions, and our relationships.
A life of Christlike self-giving brings us to the place where Jesus can work His works in our own lives, and because we are being shaped and formed by Him we then, together, become a church (the called out) people of God. In His grace we become people of grace.
Someone once said that a church grows because of the size of the heart of the people. That’s why Jesus is always working on our hearts. He stretches us to be great givers, givers of grace, and in so doing brings His wholeness into us. And, then we know, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
