Elder, David “Doc” Kenser, provides us with a daily devotion and reflection.

In the apostle Paul’s farewell address to the Ephesians elder, the very last recorded words were a quote from Jesus Christ in which he said, “‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  Interesting that of all the things he said to the elders about the work of the Spirit and the calling of shepherds, he chooses to end with such a generic admonition.

But was it so much generic or was it not more a general call to arms – a call to act at the heart of the Christian Faith, which is not to gain something for oneself butt rather to give to others?  Is that not the basis for Jesus himself being sent into the world, that “God gave his one and only Son” (Jn 3:16)? Did not Jesus say, “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt 20:28)?

If one’s Christianity is all about getting a pass on hell and a ticket to heaven, then the core of the Faith is missed.  If a church is chosen based primarily on what I can get out of it and it’s worship is judged mostly on what I got out of it, I am missing the heart of the matter.  Christianity is a call to give up selfish interests, the church is an assembly of servants and worship is an opportunity to give honor to God and encouragement to others.

The goal of our faith is not to become grand receivers of blessings, but rather to grow in the grand blessing of giving.  Our specific goal is to “become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13).  That measure, that fullness inspires one to discover ways of giving not ways of getting.

If your Christian Faith is focused on receiving rather than giving, you need to get over it and adopt a servant’s heart, which seeks to give rather than get for this is the heart of our Lord and therefore to be the heart of his followers.  Jus’ Say’n.