Devotion - 6 Jan 2006 "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
(will be sharing this in 3 hours' time!)
Some of you know that I have a very cheeky cousin named Nathan. He is in primary 2 this year & is extremely adorable & witty. I think I’ve talked about him a few times during chapel and devotion.
I remember that when he was about 4 years old, I had a conversation with him at the canteen just behind you. It was Sunday & we had just ended church service at St. John's Chapel. Well, he was drinking from a packet of soya bean milk & I asked him, just for fun,
"Hey Nathan, you know God said must share! So may I please have a sip of your drink?"
His response really caught me off guard. He did this
"Cough, Cough, sorry I'm sick!” and he walked away very quickly, smiling & I was like dumbfounded!
I guess he loved me too much and so decided not to share his germs with me but I doubt that he was really having a cough that day. I must say that I was really taken aback by his witty but diplomatic response!
I wonder what will our response be when God calls us to share with those around us. Do we each have our “precious” or “treasure” or “soya bean milk” which we will find it hard to share with others?
Let me read to you this passage from the Bible and then share what happened to me and a friend last December regarding the issue of giving.
In Acts 20:35, Paul said this,
(In case some of you might be wondering who Paul is. He used to persecute the Christians in his time but after having a personal encounter with Jesus, his life was changed and he went from place to place, sharing with people about Jesus.)
35In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
In another version of the Bible, it says
35By everything I did, I showed how you should work to help everyone who is weak. Remember that our Lord Jesus said, "More blessings come from giving than from receiving."
I'll like to draw your attention to these words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”, and “more blessings come from giving than from receiving”.
Last December, I had the joy and privilege to go with a team to China, namely to Zhong Dian and Li Jiang to visit and teach children at a village school and orphanage school. I have been trying to save for the trip but I was not able to save much due to some events which simply swiped out my savings!
The very day before I need to make the payment for the air ticket, I prayed to God in the morning and asked Him for provision because it was not within my means to do so. After the prayer, I sent an sms to a friend and asked if he could help me pay first while I’ll pay him back in installments and he agreed without hesitation :)
That very afternoon, I went for a course and met a friend from Church. During the break, we started talking about the course and our studies, ANYTHING BUT THE TRIP. However, out of the blue, she just asked if I needed any funds for the trip to China.
I WAS STUNNED! Seriously, dumbfounded and very amazed how GOD worked, and how fast He worked because I spoke just that MORNING!
GOD ANSWERS PRAYER!
To cut the whole story short, she gave me a cheque next day which settled my air ticket.
Now Part 2 of the story
After I came back from the trip, I met up with that friend again and she told me that GOD blessed her back with the exact amount!
What happened was that her whole family (which is 5 in all) took a flight back from New Zealand because they went there for a holiday
And for some reasons, 2 of their seats were upgraded to business class!!! Which is like a lot of money!
However, the screen at their business class seats couldn't work and before my friend and her family left the plane, the air steward said the airline was sorry about the faulty screens and that and that they'll get vouchers of US 200 each per seat for compensation! Which means that they'll get US $400 and when converted, it's about the same amount which she gave me!
When my friend told me what happened, I was once again very awed by what God is doing.
Both of us came to the same conclusion, that at times, when we think that we're giving a lot, in actual fact, God gives us back even more!
I’m not saying that when you give money, He'll definitely give you back the amount. Don't get me wrong here, it's not like some investment plans or stuff like that.
Say for example, if you help a friend in her maths, I’m sure you’re receiving just as much because you’re deepening your friendship with her and also reinforcing what you know.
If you choose to give up your time to listen to a friend who is feeling down, you're receiving because you're also gaining and learning from what she is going through.
As we start this new year, let's all continue to give rather than to receive.
Let us pray.