Acts 20:35 "remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
Some people love to work with numbers. They love to count the "beans" so to speak and to make sure that each penny is accounted for. For them spending hours pouring over balance sheets and ledgers may bring joy and great satisfaction. Sadly, I am not among these people.
Yes, I want to make sure money is accounted for and that people are paid and there is enough money to cover this expense or that one, but I really do not care about money that much. I was not raised with a lot of money so it is not really something that's important to me in the grand scheme of life.
As we approach the Christmas holiday many are busy shopping and looking for the perfect gift. Others simply go to their selected retailer and buy a handful of gift cards. So much of Christmas is just swapping money I think. You buy a $10 gift that no one really wants and they buy you a $10 gift that you really did not want. You basically swapped money, right?
Shouldn't Christmas be more than just swapping money? Shouldn't it be more about balancing the budget of our lives? How so you may ask? By making Christmas truly about sacrificing for others just like the wise men did for Christ. They traveled for hundreds of miles bearing gifts to honor the King of kings and Lord of lords. They made great sacrifice of time and resources to pay homage to the Messiah. Can we do the same in our modern times? I think we can.
Sure we cannot visit Christ at His home and present gifts like the magi, but Jesus said in Matthew 25:40 'to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.' In other words, when you and I seek out the less fortunate of our society and do something good for them then we are essentially doing it for Jesus! The problem comes in when we have a deficit in doing for the less fortunate among us. Christmas is great time to balance the books, to make things right, to be a blessing to the down-trodden, and to reach out in the name of Jesus.
I know many of you who will read this have big hearts and that you often help those around you. If you are among this group I challenge you to inspire others around you by getting them involved in helping others somehow. If you volunteer somewhere invite someone else to go with you sometime. In short, I think we can all do something to be a blessing to the "least" among us. Won't you consider this Christmas season and throughout the year how you might fulfill Christ's words and experience the blessing of giving to the least among us?
Dear Father God,
We thank You for the awesome blessings you have given us. Please inspire us to be more like Jesus in all that we do. Inspire us, please, to look beyond our comfort zones and see others that need a helping hand. Please help us experience the blessing of giving to the least among us.
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