Giving like God Gives - Luke 6:38

"Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Luke 6:38

Image by klimkin from Pixabay

1. What does this tell us about God?

Have you ever been asked by your parents not to do something that they done or have done? Kind of like "do what I say not what I do" type of parenting? A simple example is parents who smoke and tell their children not to smoke. Have you ever found yourself in such a situation? If so, how did it make you feel? I know for myself it felt unfair, frustrated and hypocritical. Not that I'm putting down my parents because to be honest, we all fall into this category. We all fail to lead out perfect examples to those around us and tend to give advice that we ourselves have a hard time following. But what about God? Let's see what the Bible teaches us about God giving.

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

"If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:13

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning." James 1:17

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27

"But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift." Ephesians 4:7

Wow! What a generous God we serve. He has given us all things. We are told in the verses above that He gives us wisdom, His Holy Spirit, His peace, grace etc. Every good gift comes from Him. He even gave us His only Son to suffer and die for us. Now it's one thing to sacrifice one's child for the good of the whole but what about sacrificing your only child when you know that most of those for whom He will die for will not care, will mock Him, will torture Him and will even hate Him. God's generosity is beyond what humans can understand. He loved us so much that in return He gave.

God so loved... that he gave.

Love leads to giving. This leads us to our next question...

2. What does this tell me about myself?

Do I truly love those around me? Now most of us understand that it is a struggle to love our enemies. However when thinking about those we actually care for, we would think that we love them. But if one way love is demonstrated is through giving, we need to start reflecting on whether or not we actually love those we say we do. There are so many aspects of giving that need to be considered here.

Think of the person you love most right now. This could be a friend, a family member, your children, your spouse etc. Now let's put your love to the test.

• Do you freely give time to that person? Do you set aside time for them despite your busy schedule? Or do you wait until you feel like it or it's most convenient for you?

• Do you give that person a listening ear? We often like to talk but do we listen to what others have to say us? Do we take the time to understand their point and what they are trying to communicate to us?

• Do you give a help? Are you helpful to the one you love? Help comes in many forms such as doing someone a favour, helping in manual labor or helping someone solve a problem. Do you see yourself as helpful to them?

• Do you give mercy and forgiveness? Are you quick to forgive when a wrong is done to you as Jesus does for us or are you quick to hold a grudge and wave it over the other persons head each time an error is committed?

The list goes on doesn't it! You see giving encompasses so much more than we think sometimes. You might think you are a generous, giving person. But don't forget that each individual have different needs and perhaps you are only meeting the ones you tend to value more. For example, I love to spend time with my husband. So for me, giving him time is very easy! I can think to myself "I'm a giving person, I am willing to give him all my time". But what if his need is to have alone time sometimes. Do I give him the space he needs to recharge? That's true giving. Giving selflessly.

So if we are encouraged to give selflessly, not expecting something in return, how come our daily verse tells us that by giving we will receive? Well because it's the natural process of things. Continuing with the example of my husband, if I give him space to recharge on his own, he will feel refreshed and more happy because he was able to have the time alone he needed, this will increase his overall mood and in return I will have a happy husband who smiles and sings in the house (that's actually the case lol). This gives great joy to me who tends to be more negative and gloomy because it cheers me up when I see him happy and singing. You see what happened there? I gave but I also received from giving! Not only that but we receive great satisfaction from giving simply because that's what our DNA is made to do. If we look at the natural world, not one thing was created for itself. The trees give oxygen, the sun gives energy, the animals give to one another in some ways etc. everything was created to give back! However, we deviated from God's plan, have become selfish and suffer from this. Giving gives life and purpose while selfishness tends to make us unsatisfied, unhappy and restless. Always striving for more, looking for things to fill the void when the reason for the void is that we aren't giving so we cannot receive fulfilment!

Now in general I think there is one thing that must be given the most to those around us and that is the good news of salvation. Jesus when commanding His disciples to go heal and help others He tells them "Freely you have received, freely give" Matthew 10:8. The disciples had freely received the good news of salvation as well as all good things from God and were now commanded to also freely give, to continue the cycle of life: give, receive, give, receive. Thus an important question to ask if we are feeling empty and not progressing in our Christian walk, our we freely giving the knowledge we have about Jesus to others? Are we giving our time, our love, our care etc as an example of Christ who gives all these things? We are called to be His disciples as well and should feel it our duty to share the good news to those around us, whether it be in small or big acts, what matters is consistency, faithfulness in the little you can do and obedience to God when He tells you to do or say something.

3. How can I apply this to my life practically?

Well there are many ways to apply this to your life. I would separate it in two parts.

First, think about something you have a hard time giving to someone you love. Whether it be your time, money, your care, your help etc. find out what it is and every occasion you have to give this thing you've chosen, do it. This will take prayer and discipline because there will be times you won't feel like doing it. But just be faithful in this small thing and slowly it will become a habit in you. Once the habit is established and you do this almost naturally, you can move on to another thing you have a hard time giving and slowly but surely you'll see yourself becoming more and more like Jesus. Don't forget to rely on Jesus for this because only He can help you become more like Him.

The second part to focus on would be sharing the gospel to others. I know that for many of us (me included), this sounds like a big scary task. But like in all things, start with small steps. First, ask God what He wants to use you in. We all have different callings such as canvassing, working through media (blog, videos etc.), phone calling, distributing tracks, talking to random people, giving Bible studies, encouraging others... there's just a lot of different things. Say you feel like you should share Christ with strangers but you don't feel ready at all, start small. Start by smiling at random people for a few weeks. Then say hi. Then start small talk. Then find ways to talk about Jesus in every day conversations. It's all about building a strong habit, laying the foundation and then growing on it. Don't feel like you need to be at the top tomorrow. God just wants you to do what you can today. Please do not take this as an encouragement to do as little as possible. There's a big difference between starting small because you are unexperienced and doing little out of fear, unwillingness and laziness. I speak from experience. Satan can easily deceive us into not doing much. The most important here is to cultivate a relationship with God through talking to Him and reading what He has to say in the Bible and asking for the Holy Spirit to guide you. You'll see yourself that God will be your guide and help in all things.

My prayer Dear God, thank You so much for Your Word. It's rich content has really enriched my life. Remind us all to read and dig deeper that we may be blessed, edified and fulfilled. In return give us a selfless heart willing to give back what You have given to us so generously. Open our eyes to the things we don't give and remind us to give more. Thank You for giving Your Son to die for us that we may be saved and help us to share the good news boldly! In the name of Jesus, Amen.

I hope this helped you understand a bit deeper the concept of giving and pray you will use this knowledge to bless others.

God bless you abundantly !!

Much love and smiles,

Nahisha :)