“And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” (Acts 20:35)

Do you know any generous people? They’re easy to recognize. They’re the ones who always pick up the check for your meal, and they never remind you of it. Maybe they don’t have a lot of money, even, but they say, “I’ll get it. Don’t worry about it.”

They know a little secret: It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Now, when we were young, we didn’t necessarily believe this. We believed it was more blessed to receive than to give. Remember what it was like at Christmas? We wrote up detailed directions for our parents so they could find and buy the gift that we wanted them to put under the tree. It was all about receiving. But as we got older, we started to enjoy giving more.

I think that is true for Christians as well. When we first come to Christ, it is all about receiving because we are messed up and needy. We come to God with our sin, He forgives us, lifts that burden off us, and fills us with His peace. Then we start hearing the Word of God and begin learning, growing, and maturing. All this is good because it is what young Christians are supposed to do.

But just as babies get older and mature and ultimately become adults, young Christians need to eventually grow up. Instead of coming to church and making it all about them and what they get out of it, they need to learn the joy of giving. They need to ask, “What can I do to help others? I have been blessed, and I want to serve the Lord now. Where do you have a need?”

If you give, it will be given to you. And I have found that generous people are blessed people.