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Give without expecting a return
Published July 29, 2010
Give without expecting a return
By Dan Adams
"Freely you have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8.
We always had a big garden when I was growing up, and most years we had more than enough to eat and store. We would give away vegetables to friends and neighbors, and they would share their produce with us as well. Sometimes it became a game where we would try to leave produce for people on their doorstep or in their car without letting them know it was from us. To give without expecting anything in return was the goal. I know some of you can relate.
I can now look back and appreciate how that example from my parents shaped my philosophy of giving. I think it was a practical means of displaying what Jesus meant in the Gospels. Even though we tilled the soil and planted the seeds, He made them grow and produce.
I was pondering the many ways Jesus modeled the life He wanted His disciples to emulate. One thing that stands out was His giving. In contrast to the "me first" philosophy of the world, Jesus put the needs of others ahead of His own.
According to the Bible, giving is a regular habit with God. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son ..." (John 3:16). That Son told His disciples, "... my peace I give unto you ..." (John 14:27). He eventually gave His life as "a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28).
Jesus told His followers to give away what they had been given; the power to restore broken people to wholeness. I'm sure the fact was not lost on them it was His power they were using, not their own. They didn't earn this power; it was not theirs by right but by privilege.
Sometimes it is easier to give away what we did not earn. Oh, there are gifts that we would not trade or part with for any sum - but what God gives is not like that. The gifts that He gives are designed to be given away. They are specifically made to share, and when we share His love, grace and mercy, we find that we did not lose one bit of them. Unlike tangible things, God's gifts multiply when they are shared and given away.
In Acts 3, Peter and John gave the blessing of healing to the crippled beggar at the temple gate. I'll bet he was thankful they didn't have any money to give him! If they had dropped a coin in his cup, he would have simply been a cripple with food money. Instead, he got a gift that changed his life!
That's the kind of giving that God wants us to engage in. So how can you give of what God has given you to share His love with others?
Dan Adams is a deacon at First Baptist Grayson. Contact him at danadams007(at)comcast.net.
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