HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div

“I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35

It is more blessed to give than to receive: it is one of the sayings of the Lord, and there must be many such, which the Gospels do not record on any of their pages.

More blessed it is because it is more Godlike. God is always giving:

• rain and dew and sunlight,
• life and health,
• the discipline of sickness,
• the chastening of sorrow, and,
• best of all, His own dear Son and all that Jesus brings

— how that Heart of hearts loves to pour forth its inexhaustible treasure! There are no limits to its bounty! If I give, then I shall be like God!

More blessed it is because it is more fruitful. It is those who give — give money, time, and labour, and themselves — who are the world’s greatest benefactors. The selfish soul never blesses those around him; only the self-forgetful soul does that. So I must give if I would not have my life barren and vain if I would not be a mere cumberer of the ground.

More blessed it is because it is the consequence and consummation of receiving. First I receive — and then I give. I receive Christ and His salvation with empty hands, with needy hearts — and then, having been made rich myself, I impart my wealth and store to others. I am loved, ineffably, divinely — in order that I may learn to love others. The receiving is the prelude — the giving is the result and crown. The receiving is the pathway — and the giving is the end.

So let me remember and obey the words of the Lord Jesus. And let me thank Paul that he has preserved for me a flower of the Master’s speech which is not enshrined in the gospels themselves.