Tag Archives: giving

The Greatest Gift!

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3703145222_428db0fdbc_z     Christmas morning!  I remember as a child, my brother and I could hardly sleep the night before in anticipation of the gifts that we would find under the tree.  Invariably, there was always one “big” gift each year, which we would open last.  To build the anticipation, my dad would keep egging us on by saying, “I wonder what’s in that big box.”  As a child, I definitely enjoyed receiving gifts on Christmas.

     As I grew older, I came to realize that there was more joy in giving than in receiving.  To witness the merriment in someone else’s face as they open the gift that you have selected for them was a good feeling that far surpassed whatever I might receive.  Paul understood this to be true as well, when he quoted the words of Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35).

     As we search the stores and websites in our modern age, from Black Friday to Christmas Eve, we are looking for just the right gift, the perfect gift, the greatest gift that we can give our loved ones.  As we live here on earth, we should realize that God has given us that perfect gift.  He has given us the greatest gift.  He has given us His Son.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16 NKJV).   God has given us a gift to pay our debt of sin; a debt that we could never repay.  By the blood of Jesus, we can have redemption.

     As we gather with our families and friends on this holiday, we should remember the God who gave us that greatest gift.  Indeed we should always remember the God who loved us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die for us on the cross of cavalry.  It is by Jesus’ blood that we can have the hope of eternal life with Him in heaven.  You won’t find a better gift than that under anybody’s tree this morning!

Reaping As We Sow

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Farming_near_Klingerstown,_Pennsylvania

          Both Jesus and the inspired words of the Bible use illustrations that people were sure to identify with in order to teach them an eternal truth.  Oftentimes these illustrations came back to the idea of spreading seed or of cultivating and growing, since the populace was based on agriculture by and large.  One such illustration is used with regards to our giving, and is found in Paul’s writings to the church at Corinth.

            In the instructions for giving that were communicated by Paul, we find that we are to lay by and store as we have been prospered on the first day of the week (1 Cor. 16:1-2).  Later Paul also states that as we sow we also shall reap, and the Lord loves one who gives cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:6-7).  Paul tells us that if we will sow bountifully, then we will reap bountifully.

            Let us consider for a moment this idea of sowing and reaping.  Many take the first part of the command to give (give as you have prospered) to mean that they can sow sparingly.  However, God’s word tells us that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.  If we truly want to prosper, we should be sowing much instead of little.  Imagine that a farmer looks at his fields and thinks to himself that as soon as that bumper crop comes in, he will go out and sow some seed.  Well, we all know that it doesn’t work that way.

            If we truly wish to reap much, especially in the next life, then we need to get busy with sowing much while we have the opportunity.  With regards to our giving we should give so that we can prosper, and not wait for that prosperity to come first.