“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38)
Giving of ourselves Why do we give of ourselves these days? If you ask people on the street why they give, whether it be presents or time, what might you expect to hear? Perhaps someone might say, “I give so that people will like me”, or “I give because it’s the expected thing to do”, or “I give so that people will think I’m a good person”. But how often do you think you would hear the answer that God expects: “I give to others in thanksgiving to God for all that He has done for me”, and “I give because God commands me to give”?
Why we are to give There are so many commandments in the Bible to give to others. For example, Proverbs 3:9 clearly states, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase”. Giving, as in tithing, is clear in the Bible, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the LORD’S: it is holy unto the Lord” (Leviticus 27:30). But what about the giving that is above and beyond our tithes? What about giving of our lives and our time to others? Luke 6:38 shows us God’s perfect plan for our giving. God tells us, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38). God wants us to give to others all the time. And why do we give? We give in thanksgiving to God for all that He has done for us. “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (John 15:12). Why do we love? We love because God loves us! How do we love? We love by giving of our lives, substance, and hearts.
Promises to those who give God honors those who give in ways unimaginable. We’re not just commanded to give, we’re commanded to give and then we’re promised that in return the Lord will provide abundantly for us! Look back at Luke 6:38. The verse tells us that when we give, it will be given back to us. And how will it come back? It will return to us, “pressed down, and shaken together, and running over”. See, the Lord promises to bless those who give in thanksgiving to Him. He is a God of abundance and of love (John 10:10). What is not promised here is that we will receive back the same things that we give. For example, we won’t necessarily receive money if we give money. We’ll receive back what the Lord knows that we need. Perhaps it’s health, friendship, love, help with yard work, or a bag of groceries. Whatever the need, the Lord knows it and He will provide – abundantly! (Philippians 4:19).
Keys to giving So, what are our take-home lessons about giving? First of all, we give purely out of thanksgiving to God. Remember what Jesus said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me”? When we do things for others, we are doing things for Him! How much does that increase your motivation to help others?
Secondly, we can be assured that God will notice our giving. We don’t give expecting God to return it to us, but we can give with the knowledge that He will return it to us, “pressed down, and shaken together, and running over”.
Lastly, if we keep the remembrance of God’s amazing sacrifice on the Cross in the forefront of our hearts and mind, giving of ourselves is never hard. You can’t be pondering the amazing love of Christ and then turn your back on a friend in need. Keep Christ at the front of your mind and heart, and ask God to open your eyes to the needs of others – giving will come naturally.