By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Galatians 5:22-23
“It is not he who has and keeps, but he who gives away, that is rich; and it is giving away, not possession, which renders a man happy; and the fruit of the Spirit is generosity. It is in the soul, then, that riches are. Let it, then, be granted that good things are the property only of good men; and Christians are good. Now, a fool or a libertine can neither have any perception of what is good, nor obtain possession of it. Accordingly, good things are possessed by Christians alone. And nothing is richer than these good things; therefore these alone are rich. For righteousness is true riches; and the Word is more valuable than all treasure, not accruing from cattle and fields, but given by God — riches which cannot be taken away. The soul alone is its treasure. It is the best possession to its possessor, rendering man truly blessed.”
Clement of Alexandria (150-215) in Paedagogus (The Instructor), 3.6. He served as the instructor of the Catechetical School of Alexandria, helping teach God’s people in the Church to connect truth to everyday life.
Will you be rich this Christmas at year-end and in the new year?
I am not referring to how much money you will possess, but rather, how much you will give. We discover that righteousness is not serving as a container of God’s blessings but as a conduit. The instructor reminds us that only conducts are positioned to grasp true riches.
Offer what you have to Jesus, and receive the unimaginable in return.
As I have spent Advent in Alexandria and will return home shortly, I had make many sacrifices to come and serve. I had to do an enormous amount of work prior to the trip to be able to come “give all I have” on this trip. But, just as God promises, I find myself returning home not empty but enriched with unfathomable blessings.
I depart as a man who was privileged to bless many people. But in return, I’ve been rendered, as Clement would say, “truly blessed.”