God is a Giver
What makes Christmas, Christmas for you? What are the traditions you love? Is there one Christmas you would point to as the best Christmas ever?
I think back to memorable Christmases from my childhood. When I was kid we would make things in school to give to our family as Christmas presents. This was particularly important to me as I had no money to buy presents. But, boy, did I make presents. The present that I made the most, that I was best at I guess, was the now classic ceramic ashtray. Remember, this was in a time before everyone on television and every where else was telling us that smoking is the worst thing in the world. Back then, people on television were telling us that smoking was good for us. So the fact that our teachers in school were showing us kids how to make ashtrays sort of made sense. The ceramic ashtray had both a practical and artistic dimension to it. I made it in different colors and in different sizes and shapes. I would make them and my teacher would fire those bad boys in the kiln at school every year. And every year I would wrap up the best ashtray of the bunch and give it. . .to my grandmother. In case you’re wondering, my grandmother didn’t smoke – she never had smoked, didn’t smoke, and never would smoke to her dying day. But every year I would give her a new ashtray to go along with the other ones, and she would thank me and hug me like it was the best Christmas gift she had ever received. Which prompted me to think, “Then I know what I’m giving you next year. . .”
Another Christmas memory that I have is of my father. Every year the gift that he would receive was a box of chocolate-covered cherries. He liked them. He would request them. That’s all he wanted. So my mom would get him a box and he would unwrap them every year and be pleased. One year though, I watched him open that box of cherries and it seemed to me a sad thing. Here he was the dad and he only received one measly present, and, in my mind, a poor one at that. (A little disclosure: I didn’t like those chocolate-covered cherries. Couldn’t we give him peanut butter meltaways instead?) So I walked over to his chair and put my arm around his shoulder and said I was sorry he only got that lousy box of chocolate-covered cherries.
Then I said, “Here, I made you this really nice ashtray.”
Maybe your “best Christmas ever” has to do with a special gift you gave or received; or a special time with family. The Bible talks about the best Christmas ever. It starts with a verse:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3.16
What made that first Christmas great to God was what he got to do. He got to give the Universe what he had been saving up to give – a Savior.
See, Giving is what Love does, how Love expresses itself. Giving is the heart of Love and therefore, at the heart of God. What many folks don’t understand is that God is not a taker. God is a giver.
In the ancient Mesopotamian world, there were myths and stories about gods who had power but also were mean-spirited and basically used humanity as their lackeys, to do for them what they wanted and make up for what they the gods lacked. But then along comes Israel and in Genesis an account of a God who creates and gives and says do with this what you will. Some believed is this giving God, some didn’t.
Many people have trouble believing this today. It’s like the story of children lined up for lunch at a Catholic elementary school. At the table at the head of the line was a large pile of apples. Someone had left a note, posted on the apple tray:
“Take only ONE. God is watching.”
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end was a table with a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had scribbled a note,
“Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”
Is this your idea of what God is really like, a big greedy spoil-sport waiting to catch you doing something wrong? Is this what you’re idea of God looks like?
Show Dwight picture.
Is this mean-spirited god worthy of your worship tonight? No wonder more people don’t go to church, if that’s the god they expect they’ll meet there.
It is true that the Bible says, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” But mostly the Lord gives. That’s who God really is. And the Bible makes this clear:
“Do not be deceived my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1.16-17
Notice that James not just “some good things” come from God but “every good thing” comes from God.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” Lamentations 3.22-23
God has always been a giver. But at that first Christmas he got to give his best. He outgave himself. He gave the best gift to the people who needed it the most – sinners. You know who that is don’t you? It’s that person next you.
So having the best Christmas ever is not about the church being decorated just so, or, like Clark Griswold having your house lit up so much that it brings down the power grid for the whole town. The best Christmas ever is not about what gifts you receive or even the moments you create. I heard a radio commercial yesterday in which the sponsor wished everybody, to “feel the spirit of the holidays.” That’s nice. But the best Christmas ever is more than a feeling.
If God so loved the world that He gave his best to us, then what kind of response could we give? What if we gave like God gives? What if we became conduits of god’s blessing?
Jesus gives us a profound teaching, so simple and profound that Paul made sure he included it in the book of Acts:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20.35
Think about that. He doesn’t just say it’s better to give, or you’re supposed to give, or God wants you to give – He says you are “blessed” when you give. To be blessed is to be enhanced, enriched, given more life.
Jesus is saying that giving is a better way to live. Be a giver not a taker.
Let’s try an experiment with our posture. I want to divide the room here and one side I want you to take the posture of openness and giving. The other side I want you to assume the posture of taking and grasping.
It is more blessed to do this (open hands) than to do this (closed fists).
The Monkey Jar. There is an old story that asks the question, “How do you catch a monkey?” You take a jar with a narrow opening and you place something inside the jar, a banana, an apple, an ipod, that a monkey might want. You tie the jar to a tree or something. A monkey comes along and reaches in and grabs the banana; but as long as the monkey holds on to the banana it can’t pull its fist out of the jar. It faces a future of cages and imprisonment and death, but it won’t let go of the banana. And so the monkey holding on, wanting to the banana, and is stuck, until you come and catch it.
That’s how the story goes. In truth, no monkey has ever been caught this way. Because monkeys aren’t that greedy and stupid. The monkey jar doesn’t work on monkeys. There is one species it does work with – cats. And one other species. There a lot of folks out there with their hands stuck in the monkey jar.
A young man once came up to Jesus. The Bible calls him a “rich young ruler.” And the young man says to Jesus, “What must I do to please God? I’ve kept all the rules, been successful – what am I missing?”
Jesus tells him, “Get your hand out of the monkey jar.”
I want to be a giver. That’s what a follower of Jesus does. Maybe our prayer can be, “Jesus, I want to do what you do.”
What makes Christmas, Christmas for you? What are the traditions you love? Is there one Christmas you would point to as the best Christmas ever?
I think back to memorable Christmases from my childhood. When I was kid we would make things in school to give to our family as Christmas presents. This was particularly important to me as I had no money to buy presents. But, boy, did I make presents. The present that I made the most, that I was best at I guess, was the now classic ceramic ashtray. Remember, this was in a time before everyone on television and every where else was telling us that smoking is the worst thing in the world. Back then, people on television were telling us that smoking was good for us. So the fact that our teachers in school were showing us kids how to make ashtrays sort of made sense. The ceramic ashtray had both a practical and artistic dimension to it. I made it in different colors and in different sizes and shapes. I would make them and my teacher would fire those bad boys in the kiln at school every year. And every year I would wrap up the best ashtray of the bunch and give it. . .to my grandmother. In case you’re wondering, my grandmother didn’t smoke – she never had smoked, didn’t smoke, and never would smoke to her dying day. But every year I would give her a new ashtray to go along with the other ones, and she would thank me and hug me like it was the best Christmas gift she had ever received. Which prompted me to think, “Then I know what I’m giving you next year. . .”
Another Christmas memory that I have is of my father. Every year the gift that he would receive was a box of chocolate-covered cherries. He liked them. He would request them. That’s all he wanted. So my mom would get him a box and he would unwrap them every year and be pleased. One year though, I watched him open that box of cherries and it seemed to me a sad thing. Here he was the dad and he only received one measly present, and, in my mind, a poor one at that. (A little disclosure: I didn’t like those chocolate-covered cherries. Couldn’t we give him peanut butter meltaways instead?) So I walked over to his chair and put my arm around his shoulder and said I was sorry he only got that lousy box of chocolate-covered cherries.
Then I said, “Here, I made you this really nice ashtray.”
Maybe your “best Christmas ever” has to do with a special gift you gave or received; or a special time with family. The Bible talks about the best Christmas ever. It starts with a verse:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3.16
What made that first Christmas great to God was what he got to do. He got to give the Universe what he had been saving up to give – a Savior.
See, Giving is what Love does, how Love expresses itself. Giving is the heart of Love and therefore, at the heart of God. What many folks don’t understand is that God is not a taker. God is a giver.
In the ancient Mesopotamian world, there were myths and stories about gods who had power but also were mean-spirited and basically used humanity as their lackeys, to do for them what they wanted and make up for what they the gods lacked. But then along comes Israel and in Genesis an account of a God who creates and gives and says do with this what you will. Some believed is this giving God, some didn’t.
Many people have trouble believing this today. It’s like the story of children lined up for lunch at a Catholic elementary school. At the table at the head of the line was a large pile of apples. Someone had left a note, posted on the apple tray:
“Take only ONE. God is watching.”
Moving further along the lunch line, at the other end was a table with a large pile of chocolate chip cookies. A child had scribbled a note,
“Take all you want. God is watching the apples.”
Is this your idea of what God is really like, a big greedy spoil-sport waiting to catch you doing something wrong? Is this what you’re idea of God looks like?
Show Dwight picture.
Is this mean-spirited god worthy of your worship tonight? No wonder more people don’t go to church, if that’s the god they expect they’ll meet there.
It is true that the Bible says, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away.” But mostly the Lord gives. That’s who God really is. And the Bible makes this clear:
“Do not be deceived my dear brothers and sisters. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1.16-17
Notice that James not just “some good things” come from God but “every good thing” comes from God.
“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning.” Lamentations 3.22-23
God has always been a giver. But at that first Christmas he got to give his best. He outgave himself. He gave the best gift to the people who needed it the most – sinners. You know who that is don’t you? It’s that person next you.
So having the best Christmas ever is not about the church being decorated just so, or, like Clark Griswold having your house lit up so much that it brings down the power grid for the whole town. The best Christmas ever is not about what gifts you receive or even the moments you create. I heard a radio commercial yesterday in which the sponsor wished everybody, to “feel the spirit of the holidays.” That’s nice. But the best Christmas ever is more than a feeling.
If God so loved the world that He gave his best to us, then what kind of response could we give? What if we gave like God gives? What if we became conduits of god’s blessing?
Jesus gives us a profound teaching, so simple and profound that Paul made sure he included it in the book of Acts:
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20.35
Think about that. He doesn’t just say it’s better to give, or you’re supposed to give, or God wants you to give – He says you are “blessed” when you give. To be blessed is to be enhanced, enriched, given more life.
Jesus is saying that giving is a better way to live. Be a giver not a taker.
Let’s try an experiment with our posture. I want to divide the room here and one side I want you to take the posture of openness and giving. The other side I want you to assume the posture of taking and grasping.
It is more blessed to do this (open hands) than to do this (closed fists).
The Monkey Jar. There is an old story that asks the question, “How do you catch a monkey?” You take a jar with a narrow opening and you place something inside the jar, a banana, an apple, an ipod, that a monkey might want. You tie the jar to a tree or something. A monkey comes along and reaches in and grabs the banana; but as long as the monkey holds on to the banana it can’t pull its fist out of the jar. It faces a future of cages and imprisonment and death, but it won’t let go of the banana. And so the monkey holding on, wanting to the banana, and is stuck, until you come and catch it.
That’s how the story goes. In truth, no monkey has ever been caught this way. Because monkeys aren’t that greedy and stupid. The monkey jar doesn’t work on monkeys. There is one species it does work with – cats. And one other species. There a lot of folks out there with their hands stuck in the monkey jar.
A young man once came up to Jesus. The Bible calls him a “rich young ruler.” And the young man says to Jesus, “What must I do to please God? I’ve kept all the rules, been successful – what am I missing?”
Jesus tells him, “Get your hand out of the monkey jar.”
I want to be a giver. That’s what a follower of Jesus does. Maybe our prayer can be, “Jesus, I want to do what you do.”
posted by Rich Morris | 8:28 AM
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