Today’s blog is going to be short and sweet.
Christmas of 2011, when LifeHouse Church was just beginning to meet in a building on Tuesday nights, our church family adopted several families in need, in our community, to help make their Christmas special. The people of LifeHouse were very generous, providing gifts, even though they did not personally know the families they were blessing.
Several of us had the wonderful opportunity of taking the gifts to the families that Christmas. I went along for one of the deliveries and I remember bringing the gifts into their tiny living room as they all stood there staring at us. Their faces were filled with astonishment and delight…and maybe a little bit of disbelief. When we left, I sat in the car thinking of what a blessing it was to be a part of this generous act. There was so much about this opportunity that reflected the nature of Jesus – giving without expecting anything in return. Giving just to give.
It’s not an everyday occurrence. I’ll be honest. In our cause and effect world, I often approach things with a personal, beneficial outcome in mind. For example: we are on a budget, because the feeling of being debt free is very desirable. I work in photography and graphic design because it gives me a sense of fulfillment and I love to see a project completed. You get the idea. Even in relationships it’s easy to forget how to be a “good” friend – how to seek the good of another while expecting nothing in return.
So when you find yourself on the receiving end of sacrificial love, it often evokes the same response I saw on the faces in the living room that Christmas: astonishment, delight and maybe a little bit of disbelief.
Recently, I have been the recipient of that type of sacrificial love and friendship. Thank you for your heart to give because you love Jesus and you love others!
C S Lewis once asked, “Is any pleasure on earth as great as a circle of Christian friends by a good fire?”
Shouldn’t it be the central purpose of Christian friendship…sacrificial giving?
God tells us in His Word:
- Love one another with brotherly affection. Out do one another in showing honor. Romans 12:10
- Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14
- Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; so does the sweetness of a friend’s counsel that comes from the heart. Proverbs 27: 9
- As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27: 17
- Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. 1 Corinthians 10:24
- Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:8
I’m feeling very blessed this morning to know friends who reflect the verses above. Lord, help me to reflect your sacrificial love. Help me to approach my relationships in a way that is not self-seeking. I want to be a friend that shines the giving heart of Jesus and I’m thankful today for the examples around me!
