It’s better to give than receive.
We’ve all heard that admonition, one usually handed out to admonish us to change our attitude when we moan about not getting the exact gift we want for our birthday, for Christmas, or for our high school graduation.
When God created humanity, all he wanted was to give good gifts unto his creation. Genesis tells us God gave man all things to be under his dominion. Then, when that didn't get our attention, God gave us his Son. Are we getting this? He gave us his Son, knowing Jesus would die. Jesus gave up his life so that we might have life in him.
It’s better to give than receive. If that’s true, God is having a really good time in heaven. He’s enjoying his creation more than we can imagine. And how about Jesus, giving up everything, and getting back even more out of his gift to mankind?
To add to his pleasure, after the gifts were all given, God handed us one more package. John 14:16 tells us:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”
This is the Holy Spirit, given to us to be with us for all time. This is the way of God, to gift his blessing on us, then to offer us yet another good thing, and another, and another.
God gets his joy from what he does for us, not the other way round. Sometimes we twist things up, thinking we have to perform some magnificent task great enough to get God’s attention. It’s not like that. He wants to do for us because that’s where he finds his joy.
Remember these Verses of Wisdom:
John 1:18 encourages us to trust, because “…no one has ever seen God.”
John 5:30 is Jesus’ assurance that he seeks not his own way “…but the will of him who sent me.”
Acts 2:22 says Jesus is “…a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs”
John 5:19 validates that “…the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing.”
John 14:28 gives Jesus’ promise, “I am going away, and I will come to you.”
John 20:17 tells us Jesus will ascend “…to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
John 1:1 gives us a beginning that is better than the Big Bang theory every time:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
These passages reveal God’s lesson unto us. It really is better to give than receive. When we learn that, we’ll be filled with the joy of the Lord, because we’ll want to give of ourselves in every area possible.
If we truly become like the Father, we’ll offer the things we treasure most to make other people’s lives better.
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Code: FGO.B.21.16.vp.esv