Handing Out Love

By: Wendy Sanders

Thursday, April 2, 2026

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

It seems like storage units are being built on every corner, and there are more of them than I've ever seen. When I see them, I wonder if the new homes being built have enough storage. Otherwise, I fear as a society, we are acquiring more things than our homes can physically hold.

Jesus entered the world with nothing, and He left it with nothing. The same will be true for us. Everything we possess was given to us by God. Some of us have much, others have very little, but that isn't what matters. What matters is what we do with what God has given us.

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2 Corinthians 9:7

God doesn’t want reluctant, grumpy givers. He wants cheerful givers that serve others and give whatever they can. One of God’s characteristics is giving, so we must always strive to imitate His character. He may prompt us to give monetarily, but we can also give a meal to a friend or offer to watch someone's children on their much-needed date night. Jesus didn’t walk around handing out money, He walked around offering love. He showed love by pointing the people He met towards God.

Some of you may have past hurts that are related to giving. Today, I am praying that you hand those hurts and fears over to God. No matter what happened, ask God to heal your heart so you will be able to give cheerfully, not reluctantly. We've all been hurt in different ways, but Satan loves to attack our giving! He hurts us in an attempt to stop our tithe and offering. Satan doesn't like it when we share what God has given us with others.

As our opening verse says, we can share Christ’s love with our words, but we can also show the love of Jesus with our actions!