To Take is Human; to Give, Divine

And now abideth faith, hope, and charity, these three:
but the greatest of these is charity. (Corinthians 13:13 kjv)

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.
But the greatest of these is love. (Corinthians 13:13 niv)

   So which is the greatest, charity or love? I remember hearing somewhere that the Bible contains seven different Greek words that translate into our word "love." Agape and Eros come immediately to mind but my diminishing memory capabilities preclude me from remembering the rest. (I wonder what the Greek word for love is in the following sentence, "Boy, would I love to have my diminishing memory capabilities curtailed so I can remember more than I forget.") Is charity just another form of love? When I recently contributed to APLC’s Operation Christmas Child fund raiser, I felt all gooey inside as I imagined a young boy in (possibly) the middle of Botswana opening my gifts with a wild-eyed look of excitement and joy. What is it about giving that translates to gooeyness? It is better to give than to receive, but why? There is a heart-warming satisfaction in knowing that your gift may bring joy or humor or surprise or satisfy a desire for someone you know, but there is a supreme satisfaction in knowing that your gift may fulfill a need for someone less fortunate than yourself. I believe we may begin to get a mere glimpse of the mind of God when we give to others, when we share what we have, as He has given us everything we have, not only our clothes and food and homes and friends and family, but our proficiencies and our intelligence and our compassion. And when we take everything he has given us and made a royal mess of it, he gives us "his only begotten son" as a Savior so that all obstructions may be removed when we are ultimately reconciled to him in the end of days. In other words, He gave 'til it hurts. Greater love has no one than this; that one lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13 nasb).

   Thanksgiving is obviously not a time to just gorge ourselves on our bounty but to give thanks to Him who provides us with all our needs; but we must in turn be spurred to give to others. As I get older, I sometimes compare myself to an aging horse that is slowly being put out to pasture as a sagging sack of bones... so that the image of a good spur necessary to promote action is an appropriate one. To give food and clothing to others reflect the fruits of the Holy Spirit and shows the mercy of Christ. As Lincoln said, "It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this" ...until it hurts if necessary. So which is the greatest then, charity or love? It's no contest. Charity is love.

Dear Heavenly Father, in this upcoming season of the holidays, spur us to share with others what they may need to feel your love. Amen