The finest and unsurpassed example of selflessness is found in the character of God. His desire to share His blessings with us never ceases to amaze and captivate thirsty souls.
Our entire Earth was created according to the principle of receiving and giving. Rain and snow come down from heaven to make the soil fruitful, and after passing through the depths of the earth, they flow into underground rivers, which give their waters to the ocean; the ocean, in turn, returns them to the sky.
Every living creature and every plant is designed to benefit someone or something. Everything was created to give and to serve.
Sin altered God’s creation and distorted this harmony, yet nature still bears the signature of its Creator.
Yet Heaven’s most generous Gift to humanity is that, for the sake of our salvation, God did not withhold the most precious Gift He had—Himself in the Person of His Son Jesus. The Creator gave Him, and gave Him forever, never again to receive His Son as He had been before He was born in a human body. This Gift cannot be measured in words or by any value our minds can comprehend. The Eternal, Immortal, Almighty God became a dependent human Being. The hidden depth of this mystery amazes me by both its simplicity and its profound meaning, which my limited human mind can never fully comprehend. Yet in His mercy, the Lord desires to reveal this mystery to those who seek and thirst. He shows great and inaccessible things to those who call upon Him with a desire to learn more and go deeper.
Knowing God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit gives the believer Eternal life, transforming his outlook and character into the image and likeness of God.
The human body itself is uniquely designed. Our entire organism was created to receive and then give. No cell lives only for itself; each one serves the good of others. One of our responsibilities, therefore, is to study our unique bodies and care for them in the light of the knowledge and instruction we have received.
But the main purpose God has set before humanity is the formation of a character like that of the Most High. To make it possible for us to fulfill this desire of God, He gave His Beloved Son to our world. He became a living Example for us and revealed the beauty of His love to everyone who shows an interest.
To give what is most precious is the character of Love. Love is always ready to sacrifice itself, forgetting everything else as long as others may be well. Love finds its greatest satisfaction when it can invest itself in a gift or a deed, whether great or small. Love gives meaning to everything and makes every action right. Every cell of our bodies bears the seal of God’s love. If this were not so, we would fly apart into tiny atoms and disappear in an instant. Yet love holds us together in the fullness of our physical being and sustains the proper functioning of the body.
Sin has also affected our health. Every illness is a symbol of sin, which destroys God’s creation in order to kill it. But the Lord placed within us mechanisms of defense and immunity so that we could continue to live. Yet what can God do for those who knowingly kill themselves by destroying body and soul with something harmful? God offers His Son as the only One able to save from sin and give wisdom and hope for a better life. Who will value this Heavenly Gift? Who will receive Him?
The world was created to meet the needs of everyone living on this Earth, including those yet to be born. Its resources are sufficient for this task. But sin has shown that all the wealth and resources of this world are not enough to satisfy the greed and envy of even one person. The world is far too small to fulfill every desire of a sinful heart. Selfishness is the complete opposite of love. It serves itself, insatiably seeking to fulfill its ambitions and gain the whole world for its own soul. Love is the absolute opposite of selfishness. It is designed to give and to share what it possesses within itself and what it receives from God the Father, from Whose Heart it originates, so that it may return to Him with even greater thanksgiving and blessings.
‘I share’ is the character of God, written by the Creator’s hand on the tablets of my heart as the eternal law of life in the universe and in God’s Kingdom, of which I become a citizen by being born again of the Holy Spirit.
Is it difficult for people who love to share? Of course not. Most likely, it is impossible for them not to share, because love always seeks an outlet in giving and selflessness. It has no need of all the treasures of this world for self-admiration and pleasure. Love finds its greatest satisfaction when it can make someone happy, ease someone’s suffering, or give someone comfort and hope for a better life. Love always finds something to do for the good of another. It is love precisely because it shares itself. Its task is also to teach me to be a wise steward, giving others what is sent to me so that I may serve my neighbors with the gifts and talents I have been given. Love continually sows itself. It ceaselessly shares all its strength and resources so that next time it may give even more and more.
The seed of love possesses an inherent power to sprout and bear fruit wherever it is sown. Love has many enemies, but it is not afraid to give itself even to them, for it has been endowed with power from above to change the hearts of those who are hostile but have not yet closed themselves completely to the Heavenly Gift.
As a result, when love wins a person’s heart, it draws the mind toward the original Source of its nature and leads the soul to Christ, in Whom there is true Eternal love and wisdom for every thirsty and seeking heart. Blessed are those who hunger, for they shall be filled, so that, once filled, they may share what they have received.
The circulation of love within a person’s nature fills his life with meaning and his heart with the happiness and beauty of selflessness. It is not good to boast, but when you are known as someone who loves to share and always does so wisely, that has a very good influence and rightly reflects God’s character in your life. Such material produces a very strong structure for the little house of happiness, one ready to welcome anyone within its walls, give that person a part of itself, and gladden my heart because it is where my treasure is. It is so pleasant to realize that all my treasures are evenly distributed among the hearts of my friends, so that they may receive me when they enter everlasting habitations.
Once, when we were moving to another apartment, I spent two weeks transporting our belongings to the new home, filling my small car to capacity each time. When those two weeks had passed, my wife and I sat in the old home and thought about what we lacked. It seemed that we still had everything necessary for life and could live without what had already been moved. Then I realized that I do not need very much in this world and that I will be unable to take anything from it except my heart. Therefore, I rejoice whenever I can fill my soul with love that delights in sharing. I will inherit Eternity with that love and continue this activity forever.
Bible verses for this chapter:
John 3:16; 10:17–18; Genesis 1:1, 27–29; 2:8, 15, 18, 22; Leviticus 20:24; Jeremiah 27:6; Ecclesiastes 1:7; 2:3–11; Mark 8:36; Proverbs 28:27; 31:20; Luke 6:34; 10:19; 1 Timothy 6:17; James 1:5; Revelation 21:6–7