Three Questions on Twelve Days

"In 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.’ ”  Acts 20:35

What is the greatest gift that you have every received? 

Of course we would all need to start answering that question with our salvation from Jesus Christ but what about material things?  Was there a doll or toy that was just what you had waited for all year?Was there a BB gun received at Christmas like Ralphie in the movie, "A Christmas Story?"  Was there a car given at a graduation?  Was there an extravagant unexpected gift given at your wedding?
Large or small, we can all think of things that we were given that touched and impacted our lives.  Chances are though, if it wasn't recent, those actual material things may be gone, but perhaps a sense of the blessing remains.

What is the greatest gift you have ever given?

That is a little harder to answer, isn't it?  We don't always know the impact of what we have done, even with our most extravagant gestures.  We hope we have done something to change someone's life but how can we be sure?   Did we really "bless" someone or just leave them with a sense of obligation to reciprocate?

What is the greatest blessing you have ever received by giving?

The blessing of truly giving from an obedient heart never has an expiration date.  It can go on for eternity.  The blessing can boomerang back long after the warm, fuzzy feeling goes away.  In these past twelve days we have experimented as a church what it means to give of our selves to those in need in twelve different ways.  I hope you have received a blessing.  I pray you have had your life touched by what you received in giving, enough so, that you do not want to stop.

Now here is a final (bonus you might say) question.  Of the three things I just mentioned in the questions above, which one do you honestly seek the most?  Receiving? Giving? or Blessing?  That is a hard one too, I know.  Jesus, not within the Gospels but in the book of Acts, is quoted as saying, "It is more blessed to give than to..."  All of us can finish that statement, but do we live that statement?  Seeking to share so much, so often that we would call our lives, "Blessed."  Maybe that is the best goal we can carry out of these Twelve Days of Christmas.

for the journey...

Tim