The Blessing of Receiving

Girls, these are wise and very truthful words of Jesus. In our human flesh sometimes, I will admit at the time He is calling me to give, I don’t feel like I am blessed. You know those times. When He asks you to prepare a meal for a family who has had sickness in their family and you are barely able to get it together enough to prepare a meal for your own family. Or maybe when you are physically exhausted and put out with your kids, He tells you to go get your friend’s children because she needs a break more than you do. No matter what the situation, when God calls us to give, we must obey and though it doesn’t seem like something we want to do at the time or think that it will be blessing in way shape or form, we come out on the other side of obedience being blessed. I have learned that the other side of obedience is much sweeter if our attitude is right from beginning.

Having said that, let me also say the receiving end of the giving is a blessing too. So often in my life I try to kindly reject offers for help when one of my friends wants to do something for me. Whether it is offering to take my children for awhile, buy my lunch, or take me to the movie, I try to say politely say “Thanks but no thanks you don’t have to do that.” Then one day I heard my pastor say that we need to be good receivers. The words stung me. By rejecting my friend’s offers to do something for me and by politely saying, “Thanks but no thanks, you don’t have to do that” I was taking away their blessing of being the giver. Am I explaining this well?

This week I have blessed someone by being a good receiver. God used a friend in a mighty way in my life. She offered to come pick up my kids and take them for a “treat.” She had no idea that moments before her call I had said to the Lord I did not know how I was going to finish my handouts for my retreat that were do that very day. His timing was perfect and so was hers. She kept the children just long enough for me to do what I needed to do. As she was pulling in the driveway to return my sweet babies, (Though they are 10 and 7, they are still my babies.) I was pressing send on my email with the handouts.

I want to challenge us all to be good receivers. Let’s choose to be good receivers so the giver can experience the blessing they were meant to receive and fully understand the meaning of “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”