A Holy Give And Take

[0:00] A pastor's reflections, a holy give and take.! A healthy relationship is filled with opportunities to both give and to take.

[0:45] However, people in a healthy relationship can only give what they have, and they can only take what is given. In other words, I can't give or take what belongs to someone else.

[0:57] I can only give what I already have, and I can only receive, take, what is freely given to me. An unhealthy relationship is one where either party thinks that the other person exists solely for their benefit.

[1:13] They believe that they have a right to take to themselves anything that they please. In Exodus 40, Moses is being instructed to take what is not his and use it for the sake of another.

[1:24] God is giving Moses permission to use something that belongs to himself and to use it for the purpose of serving his people. Exodus 30, 31.

[1:36] Moses has no more right to take to himself something that belonged to God than he had a right to decide how and where he would use what is God's.

[1:54] However, if God is willing to give to Moses and to his people something of himself, how silly it would be for them not to take and use what is given.

[2:07] You and I have been given something so much greater than anointing oil. We have been given the anointing one. We, like Moses, have no right to take to ourselves something so holy as the Holy Spirit.

[2:21] But how silly if we do not take what God freely gives. Remarkably, God not only gives to us that which is holy, but then asks us to use that to go and pass that gift on to others.

[2:35] Have you freely taken that which is most holy from God? Have you given that which is most unholy of yourself back to God? He is able to take that which seems to have no value from us and give us in exchange something of infinite worth of himself.

[2:56] Receive from God so that you might be used of God to be a source of holiness in the life of another. 1 Corinthians 11, 23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you.

[3:11] Father, thank you for your generous example of give and take. Thank you for giving us salvation and taking our sin. Thank you that we can receive something so holy as your spirit so that we might have something wholly beneficial to give to others.

[3:29] Amen.