Proclamation:
“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)
Explanation:
Luke, the careful researcher and accurate historian who was
a traveling companion and the personal physician of the Apostle Paul,
recorded here the words of Paul as he spoke and quoted The Lord Jesus.
Paul's point was that he did not preach and teach for money, he
worked to provide for himself, and to use his earnings to help support the
poor. He also encouraged the people to do likewise, because as Jesus
said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
Application
All too often today people are selfishly
concerned with what they will receive, and care very little about giving to
help others. This attitude also pervades many of our personal relationships.
We often say that we love our friends, but we are more concerned with
what we can get from them, or what they can do for us. We use our friends
for our personal benefit, we don't love them. That is not Christ-like
behavior. Jesus was a giving person, and He taught that it was better to
give than it was to receive. He loved His friends, He shared information
with them (Matthew 5:1-2), He shared food with them (Matthew 14:19-21), and He
was willing to give up His life for them. (John 15:13-14) His love was,
and still is more concerned with others than with Himself. Love is kind
and it is not self-serving. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7) Love is giving and not
concerned about receiving. God is love. (1 John 4:8 and 4:16) It is
better, and more Christ-like, to give to others than it is to receive from
them.
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