“Give, and it will be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over — will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use,
it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38
The truth about God being God and us being obedient is to recognize the vast difference between what God says and what your flesh says. In the area of giving (our time, money, effort, food, or vulnerability, etc) we simply give away what will be given to us in return. If you can only give others one thing then you will only get one thing in return. If you give others everything you will get everything in return. That's basically what God is saying. Life starts when we give everything away, like Jesus did. That's how God created it to be. This isn't a "to-do list" to check off--it's not about you giving tons of money away so you'll get tons of money back, or laying your time down for an annoying person so that when you're annoying someone will still have to lay their time down for you--it's not that kind of giving. It's the belief in our hearts that what we lose from our giving is not really a loss, but is what we invest in receiving from God in His perfect timing. No loss goes unnoticed, and we believe this. That is why we can give even though we don't know when or how it will be given to us. The way we treat others reveals the way we know who God is.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your comfort.
Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who are now laughing, for you will mourn and weep.
Woe to you when all people speak well of you, for this is the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets.”
Luke 6:24-26
This is not a verse about how being rich or full or having a good reputation is evil. But they certainly can be! When we don't put those gifts in God's hands to give us at His timing and in His method, usually because we are so anxious for them, we turn what is good into evil. Daily choices that don't trust God to give us comfort, fullness and acceptance are daily choices that distrust God to be good. And that breeds in the heart like subtle poison as bitterness against God grows. If God is not good then God is bad, and that suppressed lie in the heart is why good things can become evil.
These verses all speak the same core message: belief in God.
One looks at belief from the perspective of how we give and the other looks at the perspective of how we get.
Belief begins in the heart where the Holy Spirit knows the depths of who we are and reveals the truth about our giving and our getting in order to lead us closer to knowing God.
When you give today consider what you expect in return, then how you feel after giving, and talk to God.
When you try and get something (a good meal, clothes, a job, or time with friends) consider who gets the glory from your getting whatever it is you get.
Love you guys.
Jmegrey
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