Reflections on Giving

As I was praying this morning the Lord reminded me that He set the pattern regarding giving and sharing. He shared His Son, Jesus, with with the world. Jesus shared His life with the world and was willing to die on the cross for the sins of humanity. Jesus shared His life as a ransom for those who were bound in the bondage of sin. We can rejoice when we consider all that God was willing to do that we might have the opportunity to have fellowship with Him. This brings us to the question of the day. What am I willing to share with others? I want us to think beyond the obvious of money, gifts, and other materialistic items. I want us to think about our "personal" offerings to others. Most of us look at our ability to give based on our material wealth. We think in terms of dollars and cents rather in terms of availability to God. We think in terms of comparison and competition rather than in terms of encouragement and support. Each one of us have many resources from which to draw if only we can become willing to give cheerfully and to give without looking for anything in return. The real blessing comes when we give to someone who needs what we can offer and they do not have the ability to return a gift of equal or greater value. Let this be a season in which we give cheerfully. We will look at some of the resources that we possess as we proceed through this Christmas season which serves as a reminder of God's gift to this world; the gift of Jesus Christ our Savior.