Reciprocity? "'Tis More Blessed To Give Than To Receive"

A dear friend wrote about reciprociation. He/she wrote:

reciprocate - the word that i have been thinking about.
wat degree of reciprocation do i expect? am i being unreasonable? i can't impose my standards/expectations onto another person. or should i treat u back the same way

His post made me ponder for quite a while. Because I've gone through quite a number of times where I struggled with feelings of being unappreciated, especially during my NUS days, when I tried to connect with some brothers, but got rebuffed and rejected. It discouraged me very much then.

However, Jiayan wrote a wonderful piece about this:

I was wondering about some questions - ministry, relationships, self-preservation. Yes, self-preservation. This has been shared by Pastor Jeff a few weeks back during his sermon. It reminds me of the image of a porcupine. Any step closer and out comes the spikes. Have you ever seen one before? I did and it's true, before u can even reach them, it happens. They defend.

This led me to think about Paul, one of the heroes in the bible. How in the world did he manage to find zeal to serve God in his busyness and yet able to stay focused, moving forward in his ministry? Because he is Paul? Well, isn't he human afterall? Doesn't he have needs, just any one of us. I am sure his flesh will be tested, his heart tempted to stray.

As I read through Acts, I see Paul going from one place to another preaching the WOG, testifying to the truth of the gospel. Despite his amazing persuasive skills, he was not able to convince all his audience and was even being abused by them. Even after trying his best, yes. [read more!]

Do read her post; I think you will be greatly encouraged. :) May we all learn to jump for joy as we enter into the fellowship of sharing in the sufferings of Jesus our dear Lord and Saviour, and so, to become like Him in His death! Yes and amen!