Handout....

This morning I was reading Acts 
....Paul was told by the Holy Spirit 
that it was the last time  
he would see the congregation in Ephesus...    

So he said some Last words  
Pretty important words I think...   

the last part stood out to me;
His quote from Jesus....
"It is more blessed to give than receive."
the story's in Acts 20:22-38

I remember Mom telling me those words when I was a kid....

- it probably came across as;
"It is Better to give
than receive..."
Huh!?....

In other words I heard it as...
'Good Christian boys
suck it up and pretend that they are happier giving away
than getting......' :P

That was pretty hard to take.
How could Something be better than Christmas and Birthdays?
What could be better than GETting a gift?

What!....?

This morning I looked up the word used for 'blessed'.....
One definition I read was;
'the distinctive joy of participation in the divine Kingdom....'
and
This 'blessedness' is often found in the context of
difficulty, persecution, lack....

'Which would 'naturally' be the time to;
- Hang on to what I have
- Don't share... there's probably not enough to go around...

Hmm...
....I am a bit older now....
Gifts aren't quite so important to me as they once were..
I have been given much... so it's relatively easy to give more...
generously...

And I have experienced the joy of giving
The anticipation of waiting for the other person's look of
surprise
and pleasure....

And Yet.
....it's still a push.
It is still not 'natural'
It still takes going against the 'feeling' that
I need to count all my 'beans'
and make sure I'm not giving too many away....

...In case I don't have enough for ME....

....And there IS truth to that....
I need to steward my resources....

and Yet.
Jesus said;
"It is more Blessed to give
than receive."

Jesus,
Thank You for teaching me
the joy of giving
and yet....
how do I balance that
with what I need
and what You supply....?
and what is good to give..

What helps the other person
and what actually doesn't help them.... (enablement)
Hmm....

Lord, Your Kingdom is;
generous
abundant
overflowing

and yet there is much want here....

Teach me these things
My Lord.
that I might have this
distinctive joy of participation
in Your divine Kingdom
....Blessing....

Yeah.

PJ