Share the Blessing

December 20^th. How did this sneak up on me? I guess I technically knew all along that Christmas was coming closer and closer, but it still hit me hard when I wrote the date down this morning. I confess, this season has not been a typical Christmas season for us. We’ve been so wrapped up in trying to get the basement finished, coordinating schedules so someone could be at home when sub-contractors were here, planning and preparing for Seth’s graduation and the following graduation/Christmas party that we have neglected the opportunity to think upon and ponder the season and to be joyful. In our busyness, we gave up joy.

I’m writing this because yesterday was the last day of one of my gymnastics classes before our Christmas Break. We, the coaches, prepared little gifts for our adorable 5-7 years old gymnasts, and they brought us some little things too: cookies, candles, bracelets, Christmas cookies, etc. But I think my two favorites were from little Riley and Juliana. They gave us homemade cards complete with their drawings.

“gimnasticks for ever! Happy holidays ms. Meggin! Thank you for teaching me the stretches I have ben doing theme. Love Julie.”

“Magn. Hav a mare krisms Magin. Lve riley.”

There was something about receiving these cards that gave me warm fuzzies inside. While I cherish the gifts, there is something about the handmade cards that takes effort and thought and makes me realize that these girls were happy to sit down and make cards for their gymnastics coaches.

During a season where everyone is busy, it’s nice to get something homemade. Stores now cater to the busyness of the season by providing everything you may need premade, wrapped, and maybe even discounted so you can stock up. And it is so easy to fall into this and just try to crank out the Christmas cards without even considering who we are giving them to. I think what I love about these cards is that each one was different for each coach. These little girls had to sit down and think of something to say to each coach, rather than just copying one message.

In Acts 20:35 Paul says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This is because the blessing is passed to the recipient, and, while joy may fill your own heart as you are able to give to others, joy also fills the hearts of others. Blessings are not meant to be coveted or kept to ourselves. They are meant to be shared. God told Abraham that through him all the peoples of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:3). Psalm 67:1-2 says, “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.” God’s blessing to us is meant to be passed on and shared. Riley and Juliana blessed me and gave me great joy because I knew they took the time to make a card specifically for me. Their gift restores me, and gives me reason to continue to share and give to others.

This is the season of giving. This is when God gave us the greatest blessing every, his son. He gave us hope and dignity, for He still thought we were worth saving despite everything humanity had done, and was going to do. Let us give to others this same hope and dignity, not just by acknowledging them with a gift or mass produced card – there is nothing wrong with these, but we also need to acknowledge them with our hearts and minds and prayers.

Advent Generosity

This year, our church is participating in the Advent Conspiracy. This organization is dedicated to helping people realize that the meaning of Christmas is not in what we buy or receive, but in how we give ourselves away to others. This isn’t just donating money, but donating time, attention, and space in our hectic schedules. It’s challenging to open ourselves up to others during this time when cash is short and the pressure is on to prove our love for friends and family with gifts and celebration.
Jesus was the greatest gift we could ever receive, now, are we giving our lives away and spreading the joy of this gift, or just greedy for more for ourselves?

Our church is trying to raise $20,000 to dig a well in Rwanda, in the village that one of our sister churches is in. Additionally, we are trying to raise $10,000 to fund The Well ministry which feeds and provides basic essentials for the homeless and poor in the church’s community. We are all being encouraged to really examine why we are buying gifts and what we are trying to say with those gifts. Here’s the Advent Conspiracy Video:

Listening to the sermons and examining my own heart has led me to realize that generosity is not something that I really practice. This week I read in The Glorious Pursuit by Gary L. Thomas the chapter on the virtue of generosity entitled: “Positive Possession.” Thomas makes several very good points about how materialism and things can drag us down and send us into a damaging tail spin where we become self-focused and are always seeking the approval of others.

“If your aim is to receive, you’re going to be disappointed most of the time. We live in a world that is much too preoccupied with itself to pay others much attention. If your aim is to give, if you find your enjoyment in encouraging others, you will never want for fulfillment; there will always be plenty to give.”

Proverbs 22 has some interesting things to say about riches and generosity:

1: A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.

9: The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.

16: One who oppresses the poor to increase his wealth and one who gives gifts to the rich—both come to poverty.

I guess the question I ran into is how I want to be viewed by others. Do I really need the approval and gratitude of others to make me feel good, or is my worth determined by my Savior and God? Am I giving presents to others because I want to curry favor with them, or is it born from a deep sense of generosity in my heart? I have to admit, most of the time, I really want the accolades and compliments. I am giving so that I can receive. I want the good name and the favorable opinion of others rather than the blessing of God.

However, joy and contentment are not based on our situation in life. There are wealthy people who are happy and there are wealthy people who are miserable. There are poor people who are happy and there are poor people who are miserable. There is something else at play here and a lot of it is tied to our possessions and how we value them. We have to have possessions. We need clothes and cars to get to work in. We can desire these things, but our trouble comes when we desire them out of proportion to their true worth.

This doesn’t mean we just give everything away and live with no possessions though. Thomas says that the hermits who went into the desert to avoid possessions that would knit themselves to the world made a mistake because, “In the desert there is nothing to buy, but there is also no chance to give.”

Here’s the thing. Christmas is all about giving. It’s where the Grinch learns that it is better to give than to receive. But often times we get lost in the shopping and commercialization and pressure to give, and then we don’t really experience joy when we give, but discontentment with gifts we receive ad the bills that pile up and send us into a financial panic in January. Paul says in Acts 20:35, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” He is speaking to the elders in Ephesus and encouraging them to detach themselves from the things that use to give them value (wealth, possessions) and to attach themselves to God by giving their things away and becoming dependent on Him for their needs.

So this Christmas, the Advent Conspiracy hasn’t made me want to not shop or get gifts for others, but it has given me a new perspective on why giving is important. There probably aren’t many people who die wishing they had bought more things for their family members, but that they had spent more time with others. Relationships and investing in others take the focus off of ourselves, and seek to lift others up and bless them. This is what God was promising to Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse, and all the peoples on earth will be blessed through you.” Not because they would see how cool Abraham was and want to be like him, but because Abraham would have such an intense focus on God that he would usher others into the presence of the holy whenever he was around them.

This Christmas, it’s not about us, it’s about the God who became man and made his dwelling among us (John 1:14), so that we could enter into a good and holy relationship with Him.

This Christmas it’s not about scoring the great deals or giving the best presents, it’s about being present with others in the same way God is present with us. It’s about noticing others, seeing their needs, and seeking to give of our time, attention, and money because God has given us so much already.

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul (Matthew 16:25-26)?”

We discover who we are when we give ourselves away for the purposes of God’s kingdom and not for our own sinful desires. Let’s make this Advent season not about ourselves, but about how we can serve and give to others because of how God has already blessed us.