Today is Christmas. The days of early-rising little kids, gleefully desperate to get into their piles of children’s gifts, are long gone in our home. Now adults assemble at a sensible hour to share thoughtful gifts. But let that not suggest any lack of gleeful desperation on the part of any assembled—we love Christmas more than ever. Who doesn’t?
The tremendous joy in receiving is to be cherished, and added to it is the honour bestowed upon the givers. “Christmas Day” may not be in the Bible, but its joy is!
As givers, Jesus’ words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” must be our guide. The apostle Paul repeated these words to the Ephesian Elders in relation to the poor. It was a reminder to care for those who cannot always care for themselves and their dependents.
For the Christian, a gift to the needy is the perfect gift—it has divine precedence and eternal value.
The divine precedence lies in our being gifted The Christ in our time of greatest need. And the eternal value of our giving lies waiting in store for us in heaven.
When you and I join the generations of saints who gifted their very lives to the cause of Christ, we walk in holy footsteps. With them, every act of generosity—especially to the needy—is done as an act of appreciation for Christ’s saving grace.
It must have been one of Paul’s happiest moments when he wrote these words to the Corinthian brethren:
“Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord” (2Cor.8:1-3).
The Macedonian churches knew— “It is more blessed to give than to receive”
John Staiger
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