The Root of Giving

It's finally the Christmas and Holiday season! I am sure many of you are going shopping for your friends and loved ones. I love Christmas because it is the time to show our love to others through giving. I believe love is the heart of Christmas! Although many of you may be busy shopping and preparing for the holidays, don't forget to also give back to Jesus. This is the time to thank God for giving us his one and only son Jesus Christ, our savior.

Many of you are probably thinking, why is giving necessary? Why do we need to give tithings to the church? Why must we give back to God? Can't we just acknowledge his existence and believe in him? Well the answer to this is Love.  To truly follow and believe in Jesus includes loving him, through giving him our life and tithings. Many people hesitate the thought of giving money to the church. But truly, it is not about the money. The root of tithing is to show our love to God. We can't give money directly to God (because it would be useless for him), but we can dedicate our lives to him, support what God loves which is growing his Kingdom on Earth, supporting the church(financially as well), and spreading the good news of Jesus. This is how we can show God our love, through giving him our life! Just as you love your kids by sacrificing your time and money for them, this is how God wants us to show our love to him. Not just by words but also through actions. If you have a spouse, you should also give to one another as a form to show love. You can't love someone without giving something back to them. 

1 John 3:16 says, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear Children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." This verse shows us that we have to show love through actions and by giving to others. Christ led an example of giving more than he recieved. He spent most of his life healing others and preaching the word of God. At the end, he even gave up his life for our salvation. His love is greater than what this world can offer to us. The least we can do for God is give him back our love and life to him. We should also follow Jesus's example by giving to others. Acts 20:35 says, "In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to to give than to receive.'" We should all focus more on giving to others more than to ourselves. You will have this happiness in your heart knowing that you gave and impacted others lives. Giving to others is like a everlasting cycle of happiness. When you give to others, they will be more inclined to follow your good example. At the end of the day, the true reason of giving is love. 

Follow the example of how Jesus loved. He's our best example of what love truly is, and I believe love was born on Christmas day. So remember, Love is the root of giving. 

Merry Christmas Everyone!<3

YouTube VIDEO: The Root of Giving
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugVW-eBFCLo