Becoming a Gracious Receiver
Ed Wedel
A Statistics Canada report stated that in 2006 the city of Abbotsford, BC was the most generous city in the country. Being a recent new resident of Abbotsford, I was pleased to hear it. StatsCan went on to say that charitable donations increased in all provinces and territories with the highest increases being in Alberta, the Yukon, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
Why is that important? Really, just to make one point…that for every gift that is given, there must be a receiver of the gift. Acts 24:35 says, “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.’” When I was growing up the last part of this verse was stressed and I truly believe this; but where is the blessing for the giver if the gift is not received?
We are encouraged to be independent. We don’t need anybody. We are taught to take pride in being self reliant. We work hard to take care of ourselves and our families, but there may be times when we need a helping hand. The first part of Acts 24:35 says, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak.” When we face need and others are reaching out to meet that need we must respond as gracious receivers.
In 1995, I had begun working as an independent financial planner with my income based solely on commission. Three months into my new career, I became very ill and spent six weeks in hospital; could not work for seven months. What a way to begin a new venture! Having left a salaried job I no longer had a benefits program and my provincial Blue Cross program had a waiting period before I could draw any benefits. That meant I had no income of any kind. We had two small daughters at home and my wife was a stay-at-home mom.
My wife called our pastor and asked if the church would pray for us. She went to church on Sunday to find that our little church in rural Alberta had heard of our need and had been praying. That afternoon, I was in the hospital awaiting surgery when our pastor and his wife came to visit. My wife joined us and said, “Look what was in our mailbox at church.” There were several cards and notes, mostly anonymous, containing many cash gifts. I believe she received about $700 that Sunday. Being the proud provider for my family I responded, “Wow, that’s unbelievable, but we can’t accept that.”
At that point my pastor approached the bed, looked me straight in the eyes and admonished, “How dare you rob God’s people of the blessing of giving!” I was speechless. How could I respond? I asked forgiveness for my pride and graciously accepted that precious gift. For the next seven months, this small church of about 150 people supplied more than 60 percent of our household budget, and we received it graciously and with great thanks.
Ed Wedel, January 2008