Givers and Receivers

          What is the greatest gift you can give to another?  Is it your time?  Your concern?  Sacrificing something that means a lot to you?  Certainly which gift is best depends on the situation.  There is one gift that the Savior often gave that may not be obvious.

          "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).  Because so much happiness comes from being able to make a positive contribution for others, sometimes the best thing we can do for them is to be helped by them.

          When we help others there is often a tendency to think of ourselves as above them, at least in some sense, even if we love and respect them.  It takes humility, and true love, to let others serve us so that they can feel happy and elevated.  To be clear, that does not mean that we should be selfish.  It simply means that when others try to do nice things for us, and we let them, we are giving them a key to happiness.

          Why is it so intuitive to us that we should accept Christ's sacrifice for us, and yet so difficult for us to allow others to do the dishes for us, give us rides to the grocery store, or any other small thing?  Zion is to be of one heart and one mind.  I do not believe that that can occur without a constant flow of giving and receiving between all of the saints.  I am not saying that we should limit the amount that we help others.  What I am saying is that we should pair out willingness to serve others with a willingness to be served.  From experience I know that sometimes the latter is harder,

          The following comes from the life of the Savior:

          "And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment" (Luke 7:37-38).

          I think that most people in Christ's situation would feel a little embarrassed about amount of affection the woman was showing.  But instead of pushing her away, the Savior gave her the priceless gift of the opportunity to serve the Son of God.  Sometimes the best way to rescue the damsel in distress is to let her rescue you.  The word "let" doesn't mean that you didn't legitimately need rescuing.  It may be as simple as acknowledging something beneficial that she did for you that she might not have thought was important.  It may be that you could have turned to someone else but chose her instead.

          Balance is difficult, but when the most important principles are in our hearts they emerge naturally in our actions.  So serve others.  Love them, help them and sacrifice for them.  But among all that, let others love you back.

"Coupelle opalescente Etling - Etling opalescent dish," no changes made, by Etienne https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode

Agency and Good Gifts

          Human beings are capable of amazing things when they work together with God.  It is amazing to me that considering how much God knows about our lives, circumstances, and what will make us happy, how little we understand the same, and how high the stakes are, that God lets us forge our own path so often.  Even when we follow His inspiration completely, our lives in so many ways are still up to us.

          If I were in God's position, it would be very tempting to micromanage us, especially as we navigate the most important decisions, such as education and marriage.  It would be natural to want to control all of our decisions so that we would never get hurt unnecessarily.  But it is more important to Him that our path be uniquely ours.

          My favorite part of the Meet the Mormons movie was the story of the Candy Bomber, the man who, during the USSR blockade of East Germany, airlifted candy for the local children in addition to the food that the US was supplying the country.  The part that stood out to me the most was how the Lord inspired him.  He was at the end of his first run to East Germany when he happened to talk to some German children standing near the fence.  As he turned to go, he felt a clear impression to go back to the fence.  Upon returning, he gave the children a stick of gum.  They enjoyed it so much that he decided that he had to do something to help them.  And that was when he decided to begin airlifting candy.

          Now what strikes me the most about this story is what God didn't do.  He didn't sit him down on a stump somewhere and say, "Listen, son.  These German children haven't so much as smelled candy in a very long time.  Even just a small piece of candy would lift their spirits.  I want you to start airlifting candy to them so that the East Germans will maintain enough good morale to withstand the Soviet blockade."  If He had, no doubt that the Candy Bomber would have obeyed.  But God didn't do that.  Instead, He merely whispered, "Go back to the fence."  He knew what the result would be.  He knew the man's heart.  But He wanted it to be his own decision.  Because that is precisely what makes the story so beautiful.

          The Candy Bomber may have chosen a myriad of other ways to help the children that would have been equally impactful.  But he chose this one, and that was what made it special.

          It is interesting to consider that Jesus may not only give us blessings because the Father commands Him to, but also from His own initiative because He has compassion on us.  For example, from His visit to the Nephites, we read, "And it came to pass that when Jesus had thus spoken, he cast his eyes round about again on the multitude, and beheld they were in tears, and did look steadfastly upon him as if they would ask him to tarry a little longer with them.  And he said unto them: Behold, my bowels are filled with compassion towards you" (3 Nephi 17:5-6).  And then He healed their sick.  He didn't say it was because the Father commanded Him to, but rather because of His own compassion.

          It is true that God blesses us in response to our agency.  But it is also my experience that His blessings far outweigh our requests.  We might ask for an angelic visitation to confirm the truthfulness of the Book of Mormon, and He gives us the even greater witness that comes through the Holy Ghost.  We might ask for a miracle, and He responds by strengthening us so that we can change our circumstances.  Think about it; whether the miracle comes through us or through some impressive outside means, our request has been granted and our circumstances changed.  But by changing us, God not only answers our prayers, but also gives us something more: a strength of character that we can use and carry with us the rest of our lives.  Often even His "no" answers are but the segue to an even greater "yes."

          Agency is one of the greatest gifts that God gives.  Not only our own agency, but His.  He chooses to help us, guide us, love us, and protect us.  No one commands Him to; He does it of His own volition.  And, in the end, that is what makes it so beautiful.

"Gift Giving Just Around the Corner:-)" no changes made, by Kasla. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/legalcode

"Waterfall", no changes made, by Sudipto Sarkar. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/legalcode