Paul quotes Jesus in Acts with words that do not appear in the Gospels, “It is better to give than to receive”  Acts 20:35. Those words are the fabric of the Christian faith as we serve our neighbor in love with holy hands and lives.  Our service toward our neighbor – our spouse and children, parents, co-workers, friends, etc. is an extension of Christ’s hands in this world.  When we serve others, we serve our Lord himself (Matthew 25).   We are called to hold fast to the freedom we have in Christ to live our lives in love toward God and toward our neighbor.

When we need to be on the receiving end of someone else’s giving due to illness or injury we are challenged because we believe that it is better to give than to receive.  We deal with all types of feelings and emotions as we wrestle with our need to receive, because we believe it is weak and of lesser value.  This attitude can impede health and healing due to stubborn refusal of help of neighbors.  When another’s giving is received graciously and gratefully as part of our Christian vocation, or the “job” God has placed before us, we live out our high holy calling from God.

Receiving graciously and gratefully is a high form of giving; in fact, it is one of the highest forms of giving.  Receiving from God, the giver is a form of gracious and grateful giving.  We acknowledge God as giver and ourselves as receiver.  In receiving we give. The Divine Service is one place in which this giving and receiving interaction takes place in a holy interaction between God and man.  “Worship” is receiving from God that which he delights in giving.  Receiving is part of our Christian vocation, part of our holy calling.

The sexual relationship spouses share parallels our relationship with God.  The sexual relationship is the place in which we find opportunity to give by receiving in God-designed intimacy.  We receive for our physical enjoyment and give tremendous pleasure to our partner in the act of receiving.  The pure joy and excitement of the ebb and flow of giving by receiving and giving by giving provides us an amazing opportunity to think about our sexuality according to our creator’s design.  He desires for us to be emotionally, physically and spiritually fulfilled, which according to his design takes place in the sexual relationship.  He desires us to receive from him the gift of our sexuality and interact with our spouse according to his design.  Receiving gracefully and gratefully is a high form of giving, part of our Christian vocation, our holy calling. 

Christ gave perfectly of himself.  We are called to receive, say thank you and love and serve our neighbor by giving and receiving.  At times loving and serving our neighbor means receiving gracefully and gratefully; at times loving and serving our neighbor means giving gracefully and gratefully.  The freedom of self expression in receiving as giving, expressed in the Divine Service as well as sexually in a healthy relationship with our spouse, is beyond compare in this world and the freedom of self expression in receiving as giving is a true gift from a very creative God who delights in giving. 

Please reach out to a trusted mentor if you are not sexually fulfilled in your marriage.  Please be a mentor if you live in a healthy relationship with your spouse.  We are called to a life of courage and hope in Christ Jesus, the man who walks on water, calms storms and raises people from the grave into life.  He is a miracle worker!  Blessings IN Christ, Cindy

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