If you have one of the “red letter” editions of the Bible it is easy for you to identify the words of Jesus because they are the ones in red. Most of them are found in the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John). In the book, Acts of the Apostles, you will find red letters only once. It is in Acts 20:35.
“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 (NIV)
The word for blessed in this Scripture is “makarios” in the Greek and means “happy.” In other words Jesus is saying that it is more fulfilling, will bring you more joy and happiness to give than when you are given to.
Did you ever hear anyone say, “I live to give.” They can say that because they really have discovered the joy of giving. Now, it doesn’t have to be money as in the story, but just what ever you have been blessed with. There is a joy, a happiness that rises up in you when you give that you just can’t describe.
Recently a man know as “Secret Santa” died. For years he never revealed his identity. He just went around giving hundred dollar bills randomly to people on the street, mostly in laundramats and thrift stores. He gave away over a million dollars in this way.
What changed this man’s life was a random act of kindness. He was the child of an impoverished but nurturing upbringing in small-town Mississippi in the 1950s and ’’60s. He never knew his father, and was raised by his elderly grandparents. A gregarious, athletic kid, he went to college on a football scholarship. After graduation and landing a job as a traveling salesman, he found himself living in his car after the company went out of business. Broke and hungry, he ordered breakfast at a diner and, when the time came to pay his bill, pretended to have lost his wallet.
The diner’’s owner, Ted Horn, came out from behind the counter, reached down toward the floor and came up with a $20 bill. “Son, you must have dropped this,” the owner told Stewart, and the young man, stunned and grateful, used the money to pay his bill and gas up his car. The Santa-to-be never forgot how a stranger’’s kindness could change a life.
Just last November he revealed his identity knowing he was dying with cancer. He died on January 12. This Saturday there is a public celebration of his life. The emcee is a comedian. Some would think, “That’s just not right! That’s disrespectful.” No, in fact, it is appropriate because Larry Stewart, Secret Santa, was happy and filled with laughter because he knew the secret of giving.
Be blessed, be happy today. Give something to someone who can’t give back to you.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, take every shred of selfishness from me and give me a heart like yours, a giving heart. You have blessed me to bless others, and before I ask for anything more I will use what I have to bless someone else. Then, I know I won’t have to ask or beg for more because as long I as use it in the right way You will always keep me supplied. Thank you, Jesus. AMEN.
Blessings!
Pastor Roger
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