Sharing in Giving and Receiving

The apostle Paul worked as a tentmaker to cover his expenses so he could offer the Gospel to the Gentiles free of charge.  He remained dependent on God to provide for all his needs, whether it was through labouring with his own hands or receiving gifts from others.  He wrote in Philippians 4:15, "Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only."  Paul and the church in Philippi shared and engaged in both giving and receiving.  Because we have received all we need through Jesus Christ who is our life, giving is prioritised before receiving.  Yet both giving and receiving have their place in the church and in lives of every believer.

Everything we have is a gift from God as Paul explained to the church in 1 Corinthians 4:7:  "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"  From God we have received the Gospel, forgiveness, spiritual blessings and physical provision as well.  God supplies our needs through a variety of ways, whether through miraculous or natural means--and this can involve other people.  Because everyone is different, we may struggle with giving, receiving or both.  It might embarrass us to admit we have needs or to receive a gift that seems too generous when others are struggling as well.  We might want to keep the money we acquire by working for ourselves, saving up in preparation for an uncertain future.

We might see giving as virtuous and those who practice are blessed by God, but have you considered we are blessed by God to receive as well?  Paul quoted Jesus on the subject in Acts 20:34-35:  "Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. ³⁵ I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"  Paul rejoiced to work to provide for himself and others, for it was a blessing for him to do so.  Though it is more blessed to give than receive, there is still a blessing for those who humble themselves to receive.  All that Paul received from the hand of the LORD for his labour was a blessing, and he was more blessed to give it freely to others.  He was doubly blessed by giving and by others gladly receiving his gift, and all blessing Paul received came from God.

A counsellor might be known for giving sound advice:  such a one is wise to receive counsel too.  Those who rejoice to give ought to rejoice to receive even when it is not what they wanted or asked for.  We can rejoice to receive both good and bad from the hand of our gracious, loving God, knowing He is faithful to supply all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.   It is good for us not to limit our giving or receiving to money, for God has given us all the time there is, strength for the day, encouragement in His word, and opportunities to minister His love to others.  We ought to thank God and others for the kindness shown us, and we ought to receive compliments with the aim of giving all glory to Him.  Our possessions and abilities we commit to His hands to direct their use for good.  Sharing with other believers in giving and receiving is a blessing from the LORD we ought to embrace as we follow the example of Jesus.