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Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Luke 6:38

 

Lord Jesus, the first time I heard this verse (in the late 60’s), it was presented as the best, no-fail investment scheme ever. The more money you give, you will receive in return. That “spin” seemed a bit skewed back then, now it’s moved into the offensive column.  In essence, the motivation for giving was, “Give to get.”

But that’s not what you meant, at all. Having a generous heart and being generous givers, isn’t the way to “beat Wall Street” (which, currently, is very easy to do). It’s a revelation of you, Jesus. It’s a demonstration of the nature, culture, power of the Gospel. By grace, you turn selfish hoarders into cheerful givers—not crafty getters.

In union with you, we have a wide variety of currencies to spend for the benefit of others. We will never regret being generous with “our” time, talent, and treasure—and with any of the riches of grace you lavish on us. Besides, we’re not really owners; we are stewards. Everything we have comes from you (1 Cor. 4:7). When we give anything, we’re just sharing what you’ve entrusted to us for a season.

We will never regret being generous with mercy, grace, forgiveness, encouragement, and kindness. These are just 5 of a plethora gifts you give us every single day in the Gospel. The primary reward we get for being generous is you being known, loved, honored. We all could use a big “lap full” of that. So Very Amen.

 

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