February 6 – Giving and Receiving
By Audrey Bauman
Romans 15: 23 – 33 (NLT)
“But now I have finished my work in these regions, and after all these long years of waiting, I am eager to visit you. 24 I am planning to go to Spain, and when I do, I will stop off in Rome. And after I have enjoyed your fellowship for a little while, you can provide for my journey.
25 But before I come, I must go to Jerusalem to take a gift to the believers there. 26 For you see, the believers in Macedonia and Achaia have eagerly taken up an offering for the poor among the believers in Jerusalem. 27 They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially. 28 As soon as I have delivered this money and completed this good deed of theirs, I will come to see you on my way to Spain. 29 And I am sure that when I come, Christ will richly bless our time together.
30 Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit. 31 Pray that I will be rescued from those in Judea who refuse to obey God. Pray also that the believers there will be willing to accept the donation I am taking to Jerusalem. 32 Then, by the will of God, I will be able to come to you with a joyful heart, and we will be an encouragement to each other.
33 And now may God, who gives us his peace, be with you all. Amen.”
Paul seems to be in a difficult spot. He plans to bring some kind of gift or money to the Christians in Jerusalem, but he is worried that they won’t accept the gift. He’s also concerned about a possible arrest or torture in Jerusalem since he is aware of the alignment between the traditional Jewish leaders and the governing Romans, both of whom see Christianity a threat to their control. So he is asking the Christians in Rome to pray for him as he takes up this challenge.
I can imagine the excitement of the believers in Macedonia and Achaia as they gathered things together for the Christians in Jerusalem. For them, Jerusalem was the place that this new faith began, and they are so thankful that the Jewish people have shared it with them. Unfortunately, the Christians in Jerusalem, who had been raised in the Jewish traditions, were a little nervous about these new Gentile believers. After hundreds and hundreds of years of believing they were God’s chosen people, now they were faced with this new group who they had always considered way beneath them. What a conundrum!
Let’s move ahead to the 21st Century. Has there ever been a time when you received something from someone and felt embarrassed because you thought that person likely needed it more than you did? Or if it was a gift of time or skills, you felt you should pay them since you knew you had more money than they likely did? Sometimes it’s hard to receive gifts from others. For example, a friend fixed something at our house. When we went to pay them, they said no; they were glad to help. We said we would have paid someone else, but asked them because we knew each other; we really wanted to pay for their expertise. The person remained adamant that they were delighted to be able to help and not be paid. So my question to you - if you have ever experienced anything like this - Why do you find it hard to accept that person’s gift to you?
Going back to the situation Paul is describing, think about how the people who collected the things for Jerusalem felt. I’m sure they were so excited about what they were able to do. “They were glad to do this because they feel they owe a real debt to them. “Since the Gentiles received the spiritual blessings of the Good News from the believers in Jerusalem, they feel the least they can do in return is to help them financially”. (v. 27) How would they have felt if the Jerusalem Christians didn’t accept their gifts? I think this is a lesson for all of us. When someone gives us a gift involving money or time or skill, we need to accept it with enthusiasm and great thankfulness. It’s not about now owing them a debt to pay back in the future. It’s about just being thankful for that person’s generosity. Sometimes we affect someone in a positive way that we are totally unaware of, and then that person is so grateful to have an opportunity to give us something – just like the Macedonians. It’s not an I.O.U. situation. It’s a gift from a generous heart, and receiving that gift with a thankful heart. No payback required.
Sometimes we feel that we have to do things by ourselves to prove we are capable people. I think that is an easy trap to fall into, especially if you tend to have any kind of leadership role – and as parents we do have leadership roles in our homes. We think we have to do it all. I think the situation in the verses today can help us realize that giving and receiving are both wonderful. So if you get an inspiration to help another person out, do it. If someone unexpectedly helps you, accept graciously and don’t feel you have to pay it back.
It’s fun to give, and receiving thankfully is the best thing to do.
Our song for today is Build Your Kingdom Here by Rend Collective.