My wife is affectionately known as Mimi to her ten grandchildren. Every year she beautifully decorates our home in the Christmas spirit, while also probing the grandkids for what they might want for Christmas. There is always quite a stir among the little ones as they peruse catalogs and discuss options. The one, of course, who enjoys it most, is Mimi.
The Bible teaches that giving is a greater blessing than receiving, which is hard to process. Who among us doesn’t enjoy being on the receiving end of a gift, letter, note, compliment or word of encouragement? But one of the great ironies of our faith is that giving is better than receiving. This truth is spelled out in Acts 20:35: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Jesus modeled this truth. In fact, the Christmas story is chuck-full of the giving spirit of God. We used to sing a song that said, “And the gift goes on! The Father gave the Son; the Son gave the Spirit; the Spirit gives us life, that we might give the gift of love.” A favorite Bible verse for many begins with the words, “For God so loved the world He gave…” I’ll let you guess the reference. Christmas is all about God giving us the greatest gift we can receive.
Paul further explains the gift of God when he writes, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23, NKJ). Sometimes it is hard to receive a gift, but the salvation of God is just that. You cannot earn it. You do not deserve it. It is not for sale. It is the gift of God. The Bible declares, “For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness…”(Romans 5:17, NLT).
At some point in recent years the theme of “Giving Tuesday” was promoted for the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Since “Black Friday” was about buying in stores and “Cyber Monday” was about shopping online, someone thought simply giving to charity might be a healthy balance. I like the idea. You are probably reading this column on “Giving Tuesday.”
Put the words of Jesus to the test today. Give yourself away throughout this day by sharing compliments, sending notes, giving to a charity, or expressing compassion in other tangible ways. Choose to bless a family that is struggling or buy a gift for a child in need. Live out the prayer of St. Francis, who wrote: “O, Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love; For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born again to eternal life.”