Peace in Christ Exemplo

The Gift that Keeps on Giving

In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, we learn that the mind of Christ is of sacrificial selflessness towards His body. One of the ways we can see this best represented is in the act of giving and receiving.

Paul commends the Philippians for growing in giving, not only because they were the only ones to send Paul resources to meet his needs, or because they sent people to minister to him, but because it would bear much fruit.

Their generosity showed where their heart was. The Philippians knew that Paul was still spreading the gospel in prison. So, they were not only giving to the worker but also the work of God.

Through his experiences, both good and bad, Paul learned to be content no matter the circumstance. He knew how to be humbled and how to have abundance. What was his secret? Christ, who strengthened him.

Both poverty and wealth present us with the temptation of leaving God behind towards self-sufficiency. While the secret route to contentment is Christ Himself—Who makes us divinely sufficient—we can have contentment because Christ, the all-sufficient One, is with us.

Giving and receiving is an ever-growing cycle. When we give selflessly, we get joy, peace, and contentment. When we receive, what we get is to meet our needs and for us to share. And when we do share, we receive more, then we give and receive more to share, and so on.

Participating in this cycle is credited to our account in heaven, where it yields eternal rewards that last forever. This is what it means to work out our salvation – to invest in fruit that abounds on both sides of existence.

Supporting His work on this earth is a pleasing sacrifice. The generous and faithful church is promised to have all its needs supplied in abundance. Are we a church that is known for boundless giving and receiving? In partaking selflessly of that cycle, we experience the strengthening of Christ; we mature spiritually, learn how to be content, and produce never-ending thanksgiving.

Lord, we thank You that through our experiences, You have developed us into who we are. Your greatest desire is to see spiritual growth in our lives. Let us understand and participate in the mystery of selflessly giving and receiving for Your glory.