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)
Give: (v) to freely transfer ownership of something, to someone else.
Once again, at first glance, we are sure that we know what this word means and what God says about it. However, I will be the first to admit that when I think of giving, I think of pretty paper and items that can be purchased. As a believer, this word brings up other words like “tithes” and “offerings.” If we leave it at that, though, have we missed something? Oh yes, indeed, I’m afraid we have!
As I did a little digging into this word, I came up with 4 categories of “giving” that the Bible speaks about. God gives to us. We give to Him. We give to others. Finally, we give to others because we are made in His image and are therefore called to seek to be more like Him!
I am including as many scriptural references in this post as possible! Boy is there a LOT of meat to this word!
He gives to us! (Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17) What does He give to us?
- His one and only son John 3:16
- A Savior for our sins Mathhew 1:21
- God’s unconditional, unending love Jeremiah 31:3
- Grace Ephesians 2:8-9
- Peace John 14:27
- The Holy Spirit Acts 1:8
- New life in Him 2 Corinthians 5:17
- Strength that can only come from God Philipians 4:13
- Purpose for our lives Jeremiah 29:11
- Direct access through prayer 1 John 5:14-15
- Hope Romans 15:13
- Trials and tribulations Romans 5:3 (Yes, these are a gift, though they often don’t feel like it! Often, these are the very things that draw us closest to our Father!)
We also give to God. The strange thing about this one is, as we give to Him, He gives again! As we give Him our time in prayer and praise and fellowship, He gives us direction, peace, grace, etc. As we give Him our skills and abilities, He multiplies our skills and our opportunities to use them for His glory! As we give Him our fears and anxieties, He gives peace and confidence. As we give Him our weaknesses, He gives us strength! As we give Him our dreams and goals, He helps us do and be beyond what we asked or imagined! As we offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, He gives more ability to live for Him! And as we give Him our praise (sometimes, it’s a sacrifice), He gives us new perspective, revelation, and understanding!
We give to others! As followers of Jesus, there are things that He requires us to give to others.
- our talents 1 Peter 4:10
- a listening ear James 1:19
- whatever material gifts we can give Luke 3:10-11
- our joy and our tears Romans 12:15
- godly wisdom and counsel Titus 2:3-5
- love Colossians 3:14
We give because of Who God is: (We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19) Because we are created in His image and have His Spirit within us, our fleshly desires will be replaced with godly desires! Therefore, our behavior will become more godly! (Of course, we still have to do our part, cooperating with the Holy Spirit, as He seeks to make new creations out of us!) With this understanding, it follows that we are called to give grace, mercy, forgiveness, patience, hope, and kindness to those around us…even when we don’t feel like it…because we are His children!
These explanations in my spirit have caused great revelation in my heart! Our relationship with God is a “give and take” situations! I give Him the good in me, and He gives me more good! I give Him the bad in me, and He makes me better. He takes the negative parts of me, as I surrender them to Him, to make me more like Him! I am humbled and in awe of His goodness!
Lord, I praise you for these new understandings. Thank you, Jesus, for giving us gifts like grace, peace, mercy, and forgiveness. Thank you for showing us how to give ourselves fully to you. Thank you for showing us how to give ourselves to others and to be more like you, to others! Help us grow in these areas and seek you more, every day! In Jesus’ name, Amen!
Took me a little bit to find this song. (I’d never heard anybody but my mom sing it!) This song talks about lots of giving!