LISTEN ONLINEWhen Keri’s young son was going through yet another surgery related to muscular dystrophy, she wanted to take her mind off her family’s situation by doing something for someone else. So she rounded up her son’s outgrown but gently used shoes and donated them to a ministry. Her giving prompted friends and family members and even neighbours to join in, and soon more than two hundred pairs of shoes were donated!
Although the shoe drive was meant to bless others, Keri feels her family was blessed more. “The whole experience really lifted our spirits and helped us to focus outwards.”
Paul understood how important it was for followers of Jesus to give generously. On his way to Jerusalem, the apostle Paul stopped in Ephesus. He knew it would probably be his last visit with the people of the church he’d founded there. In his farewell address to the church elders, he reminded them how he’d worked diligently in service to God (Acts 20:17-20) and encouraged them to do the same. Then he concluded with Jesus’ words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (v. 35).
Jesus wants us to freely and humbly give of ourselves (Luke 6:38). When we trust Him to guide us, He’ll provide opportunities for us to do so. Like Keri’s family, we may be surprised by the joy we experience as a result.