Photo and Commentary ©2025 by Shelley Schurch
Sunday, December 28, 2025
He tore off the giftwrap with an anticipatory grin, then slumped back on the couch and wailed, “But I already READ this!”
I was nonplussed, disconcerted, and vainly searching for the right words to help the situation, when my young relative’s mother stepped in and tried to both soothe his disappointment and encourage better gift-opening behavior.
I remembered this young lad a couple of weeks ago when I was trying to find gifts I thought the recipients would be happy to receive this holiday season. And I thought that, even though Scripture says it is more blessed to give than to receive, sometimes it is also easier to give than to receive.
That’s especially true if you are expected to unwrap a gift in the presence of the giver. How do you react if you are allergic to the gift, or if it is something you can’t quite recognize, or – as in my above example of young relative meltdown – something you don’t want. Your immediate reaction may be to wail, “But I already HAVE this!” or to forthrightly ask, “What IS this?” but manners you learned at your mother’s knee prevent such ungrateful responses.
I couldn’t quite place the context of that Bible verse about giving and receiving, so I hunted it down. I found it in the book of Acts, where Paul is saying farewell to the Ephesians elders, after telling them that none of them would ever see him again.
Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:355 NIV)
So these are not the words of Jesus recorded in one of the gospels, but Paul reminding people of something Jesus said. I wish I knew the context of Him saying it. I wonder if this is something He said more than once, with a twinkle in His eye, as in, “Now, remember . . .”
There’s another Bible verse about receiving that hit me hard when I first read it. It immediately earned a prominent spot on my refrigerator, reserved for frequent viewing:
For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? (I Corinthians 4:7 NKJV)
It’s Paul again, encouraging better gift-receiving behavior. He says he is writing not to shame them, but to warn them, as his beloved children. Apparently they were getting a bit high and mighty, rather than keeping low and humble.
Sometimes when I walk by our refrigerator I mutter to myself, “What do you have that you did not receive?” and it gets me to recalling blessing after blessing after blessing I have received from the hand of my good God.
Which reminds me of one more Scripture passage on gift-giving:
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
The best gift of all is Jesus, our Saviour, the Way, the Truth, and the Life. When we’ve taken down the tree and the lights, eaten the last of the Christmas goodies, and written all our thank-you notes, this truth remains.
We celebrate this Gift at Christmas and Easter, but He is not only the reason for these seasons, but our Emmanuel, God with us, walking beside us every day, all the way Home.
Hallelujah!