The saying goes, “It is better to give than to receive.” We agree with it, but why do we? Because giving often feels easier. It allows us to feel capable and in control. Receiving, however, requires humility, an acknowledgment of need, a willingness to be served, and admitting, “We are not in control. Not really, at least not most of the time.” So most of us refuse to see our actual need, and thus many of us live with an “I-need-to-do-something-to-be-something” mindset. It can be hard to recognize how much we need, especially our need for the Christ Child.
But it is to those like us in “real need” that the apostle John proclaims beautiful news: “To all who received him, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). Christmas reminds us that we do not come to Jesus with gifts or good works. Instead, we are invited to approach him with empty hands, and he fills them. To “receive” is to confess that we cannot earn what God freely gives. That is the heart of faith, trusting not in what we can give to God but in what he has already given through Jesus Christ. When it comes to our relationship with God, it really is “better to receive than to give,” and that is the best kind of news for weary hearts.
Prayer: Lord, teach my heart to come to you with empty hands and to receive what you freely give.
