It Is More Blessed To Give Than To Receive

“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” -Jesus, in Acts 20:35.

Christmas is a time of giving and receiving gifts. When I was a kid, there was no doubt in my mind that the receiving part of that equation was the best part of Christmas. I remember barely being able to sleep the night before Christmas due to the eager anticipation I felt at the chance to finally unwrap all my presents under the tree. But the older I get, the more I recognize the wisdom of Jesus’ words about giving and receiving. As great as it is to receive a blessing, it’s even better to be able to pay God’s blessings forward.

This month our sermon series (Good News and Great Joy) is focused on thanking God for the gifts we have in Jesus: his presence, guidance, power, salvation, and peace. All of these gifts are heavily emphasized in the accounts of Jesus’s birth in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, so it’s natural for us to reflect on them as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. These gifts are incredible blessings that allow us to draw near to God, experience his peace, and ultimately spend eternity with God in Heaven.

So how can we thank God for giving us these gifts? One way is by doing our part to pay them forward to others.

Over the next few weeks, I want to encourage you to be on the lookout for opportunities to bless other people in the name of Jesus. This will likely take some creativity and intentionality, so start each day praying for God to open the right doors for you to be a blessing. And remember, it doesn’t have to be something big. Mother Teresa once said “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”

I’ll be praying for all of us at Southwest to make it a habit of doing small things with great love for our friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers. After all, this is a great way to share the love of God with others and lean into Jesus’s teaching that it’s more blessed to give than to receive.

Blessings,

Bryan Fojtasek