We Receive to Give

After celebrating Thanksgiving Day, it is a good idea to remember that genuine thankfulness goes beyond simple gratitude. If we are truly thankful, we will take another step. We will move from receiving to giving.

Using an agricultural metaphor, Paul wrote to the Corinthians that if farmers are unwilling to be generous when planting seed, they will not receive an abundant harvest. He who sows (or plants) sparingly will also reap (or receive) sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (II Cor. 9:6 NKJV)

Paul’s subject was not planting and harvesting crops but giving. He goes on to explain that when people give, God provides abundant grace. The more we receive, the more we have to give—and the more we give, the more we receive.

Giving and receiving do not always seem to directly correspond, but giving and blessings do. And God actually gives to His people so they can, in turn, receive His blessing by giving to others.

Originally published November 23, 1989.