July 27, 2023 - Law of Love

     I had breakfast yesterday morning with a dear friend.  He has been in a difficult chapter in his life, too.  It’s not the “misery loves company” thing; rather, it is the bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.  The law of Christ is the law of love.
     I love this brother deeply.  We are alike in some ways and far different in others. 
     One of the ways in which we are alike is that we would rather be givers than receivers.  We fight over who will pay the check at the restaurant.
     A couple of years ago I sent this brother a gift because the Lord impressed on me to do so and because I really wasn’t sure how the difficult chapter would play out with his family’s finances.
     My gift to him was never cashed, at least at the bank.
     For two years that gift sat on his desk as a daily reminder of two major things in his life.  1.) My love for him.  2.) More importantly, that God would meet his family’s needs.
     As he shared with me what that gift has meant to him, tears streamed down his face.  I must admit that there was this lump in my throat that felt like the size of a golf ball.
     The knowledge of what that gift represented in his life was far greater than the amount of the gift.  Its value could never be measured in dollars or cents.
     Very early in this cancer chapter in my life I shared that God has allowed this illness to teach me something that He couldn’t in any other way.
     One of the things that God is teaching me is the need to learn to be a better receiver.  As I have shared, that is really difficult for me, just as it is for this friend.
I received a gift in the mail last week from someone I have loved most of my life, but far more deeply in recent years.  Financially I am far better off than this person.  It is hard to receive when I ought to be the one giving. 
     Yesterday morning as I sat there listening to my brother, the Lord spoke to me quite clearly.  It isn’t about who is in a better position to give.  It’s about who has the need to express love, just like I did with this brother.
     Don’t expect a 180-degree turnaround.  Can a leopard change its spots?  No.   But God can change a man’s heart.
     God is doing that in lots of way through this illness.
     This morning I am resending the gift I had sent to him two years ago.  It is being given to a ministry that is close to his heart. 
     Giving can be such a great blessing.  Lord, help me to continue to learn that—from both ends of giving and receiving.