Receiving: The Whole Point of Being Alive

Saturday night we went to a dinner/concert/auction for our friend Tabi, who had cancer removed from her thyroid a few weeks ago.  The place was packed with lovely, friendly people, all of whom care for Tabi and together are taking collective ownership of her hospital bills.  As Justin and I sat scarfing delicious pasta, a sea of talking, laughing people swirled all around us.  I didn't even have to be in a conversation with someone to feel at home.

Before the auction was over we caught Tabi's husband, Brent, on the fringe of the crowd.  He was all smiles, but admitted that it is hard to be on the receiving end of such a big event.  I don't blame him; its often hard to imagine deserving the kind of abundant love that God wants to show us, because frankly, we don't deserve it. His love is lavishly given without us ever earning it.

It was Tabi's joyful tears that spoke to me the most that evening.  She told her story: the cancer, the looming cost of surgery, and she confessed that for a while she didn't feel like her troubles were worth anyone's time. She had asked herself, "How could my situation be important to God when there are much greater needs in the world?"  But through no initiation or pursuit of her own, God showed Tabi that she is worth it to him.  "Through this process," She tearfully declared, "I have seen that God cares deeply for my needs and I matter to him in a way that I don't even begin to deserve."  Tabi's honest, raw emotion depicted the simple joy she had found in grace.  It was piercingly beautiful.

This is why we exist: to simply receive the gracious, overwhelming love of a God who cares deeply for us and to give that love to others, generously and undeservedly.  And it works.  It actually, really works, and on Saturday I got to see people give and receive this love in ridiculous amounts.  Truly awesome.