I have showed you all things, how that so laboring, you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35)

Two brothers farmed together. They lived in separate houses on the family farm, but met each day in the fields to work together. One brother married and had a large family. The other lived alone. Still, they divided the harvest from the fields equally.

One night the single brother thought, My brother is struggling to support a large family, but I get half of the harvest. With love in his heart, he gathered a box of things he had purchased from his earnings–items he know would help his brother’s family. He planned to slip over to his brother’s shed, unload the basket there, and never say a word about it.

That same night, the married brother thought, My brother is alone. He doesn’t know the joys of a family. Out of love, he decided to take over a basket with a quilt and homemade bread and preserves to “warm” his brother’s house. He planned to leave the items on his porch and never say a word.

As the brothers stealthily made their way to each other’s home, they bumped into one another. They were forced to admit to what they were doing and there in the darkness, they cried and embraced, each man realizing that his greatest wealth was a brother who respected and loved him.

God of Infinite Love, remind us constantly that the greatest gift we can give each other is from the heart, not from the cupboard or the bank account!