I Prefer to Receive

By Jean Cheng

23 Oct


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Ephesians 2:12-22

Do not forget that you had no Christ and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise; you were immersed in this world, without hope and without God. But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the rules and decrees of the Law. This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God: in his own person he killed the hostility. Later he came to bring the good news of peace, peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near at hand. Through him, both of us have in the one Spirit our way to come to the Father.

So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God’s household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself for its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit.


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Luke 12:36-38

Jesus said to his disciples:

‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’


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He will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them

I must say that I am quite uncomfortable reading the above verse. Jesus will welcome all who are faithful, sit them down and “wait on them”. He will serve them. A God who can end my life at any point He wishes, a God who has the power to do anything He wants to do to me (and I wouldn’t even be able to protest or fight back)… He will serve me? I must admit that rather than feeling grateful to have such a God, I actually am struggling with the fact that my God is a God who won’t stop serving others. After all, Jesus said, ‘Take up your cross and follow me’ (Luke 9: 23). This means that if He serves, I am called to be one who has a heart like His, a heart that serves too. But I struggle with this. I can serve at times, but not ALL the time?! I want to be served too. I want to rest and enjoy too!

Such a mentality reflects my outlook of life. I can serve others but I still find the most pleasure in being served. In other words, I can give but I still prefer to receive. I still think of giving as a very tiring and painful process. Hence, when I think of Jesus serving, I am appalled that God seems to be calling us to a life of martyrdom and pain.

But are we really called to a life of martyrdom and pain? If so, who would follow such a God? Jesus said “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” (John 15:11). He has joy as He serves. He claims that to follow Him, we will experience the fullness of joy. Serving will not be painful, the joy from it will overwhelm us.

Clearly, I still have quite a way to go in being changed to be completely Christlike. I see the value in serving but I have not fully tasted the joys of it. This gives me hope that I will again see how “nothing is impossible with God” (Luke 1: 37) – even my heart which prefers to receive than to give will be transformed by God. I am hopeful that it is IN HIM that I am being built more and more each day to be a house where God lives. I know that one day I will look back in awe at how God has allowed me to experience the unending joy in serving others. Till then, I will pray for the grace to keep my heart opened to God’s truthful challenges and wait on my God.

(Today’s OXYGEN by Jean Cheng)


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Prayer: Jesus, I still prefer to receive than to give. I cannot imagine the complete joy You experience when You serve. But I believe that there is something more that I have yet to taste. I wait on You Jesus, transform my heart daily so that I will be like You, so that I will serve joyfully. Help me to experience the complete joy that You experience. Amen.

Thanksgiving: We give thanks to those who have served us quietly, placing our needs before theirs. In particular, I give thanks for my parents today.