The Art of Receiving

October 3, 2021

Randy Hageman

Jesus: ‘For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son….’ —John 3:16 (ESV – emphasis added)

…remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ —Acts 20:35 (ESV)

Jesus and the Bible lay out the importance for us to

our neighbors, our literal neighbors, right in our own neighborhoods.

As you know, you Philippians were the only ones who gave me financial help when I first brought you the Good News and then traveled on from Macedonia. No other church did this. Even when I was in Thessalonica you sent help more than once. I don’t say this because I want a gift from you. Rather, I want you to receive a reward for your kindness. —Philippians 4:15-17 (NLT)

Paul says he

the Philippians’ gift because they would be blessed for their “kindness.”

And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.’ —Luke 7:37-39 (ESV)

Jesus allowed the woman to clean his feet and anoint them with ointment, a precious and sacrificial gift that he graciously received, so she could have the blessing of

to him.

There are times when our

to receive something offered to us gives the other person an opportunity to be a giver, and our refusal to receive denies them the privilege and joy of giving.

The best relationships are

, built upon both giving and receiving.

WHY RECEIVING CAN BE A CHALLENGE

1. To receive from others requires

.

2. To receive from others means we may find ourselves in their

.

3. To receive from others requires some degree of

.

4. To seek to receive from others may feel like we’re putting a

on them.

Don’t try to create

opportunities for our neighbor to assist us.

When genuine needs arise, this might be an opportunity to seek the help of a neighbor, and in the process, open some doors for a growing

.

Frankly, we believe that borrowing something from your neighbor is a lost art. These days if a person runs out of something, it feels much more natural to jump in the car and head down to the corner store to get it. But it wasn’t always that way. It used to be that neighbors had an understanding among themselves. If something was needed, it was perfectly acceptable to go next door and borrow some milk, eggs, a rake, or a snowblower, whatever was needed. We believe that part of being a good neighbor means returning to those days of depending on and helping one another. —Jay Pathak & Dave Runyon

Sometimes letting someone else serve us gives them the opportunity to grow and become more like

.

Good neighboring is about creating a sense of

within your neighborhood, a community in which everyone is blessed, and everyone has something to offer.

In the process, you model love to those around you, opening the doors for future discussions about

you do what you do.