“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 to you.”
Luke 6:38 (NIV)
I was speaking with someone the other day and she was talking about the above verse. How the measure one uses to give to others will be used in one’s own life. She also described some African children who have nothing, absolutely nothing, including no food to eat, but if you want one of their two coins, they will give you both. Not just one and keep one, but both.
That conversation challenged me. There are things I have “dreamed” of doing but also thought I needed to wait until “we were more financially stable, had more than enough to give, etc.” And as a result of the recent conversation, I’ve started living a little more generously.
Instead of counting every penny and thinking “we can’t afford this, we can’t afford that,” giving generously to others in appropriate ways. God blesses a cheerful giver.
This week was “pay bills week.” The budget balanced easily (for which God got all the praise) and while we didn’t have a lot of extra left over, we had enough. Paying bills coincides with grocery shopping week so before we left, I thanked God ahead of time for allowing me to stay within budget and get good deals. Before we left, God nudged me to bless a friend with a small “care package” and a card. Nothing big, but something to show she was loved, cared for, and thought of. We got that together and took it with us to mail while we were out.
During the trip, God took our little offering of generosity and gave back to us tenfold. We didn’t do it so that God would bless us; we did it out of obedience and because we love to bless people. One of our favorite items was on sale for half price and we were able to buy in bulk, saving a significant amount of money. In addition, we didn’t have to pay a penny for the items – they were blessed to us by another, someone who listened to Abba telling her to bless our family in this way.
When I told the friend how her gift blessed us immensely, she pointed her finger back at God and said, “Give Him all the glory.”
We can never out give God. Let me repeat that. We. Can. Never. Out Give. God. When we give generously and cheerfully, it pleases our Father. When we trust Him by holding loosely to our earthly possessions, it pleases Him. When we put more emphasis on relationships and blessing others than we do on hoarding everything for ourselves, it pleases God.
I like pleasing God. What about you?
© Cheri Swalwell 2018