People say that we should give, expecting nothing in return. But my Aunt Carrie says, "When God gave His Son, He was looking for something in return". Aunt Carrie got a point! God gave His only Son so that His Son could give His life, so that we would in turn, give our lives back to Him.
And did not Jesus say, "Give and it shall be given unto to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, shall men give unto your bosom"? Yes He did say that!
I don't know if people think that they are being spiritual or humble. Unfortunately many of God's people really feel unworthy of the very blessings that He has promised to those of us who love Him. But trust me when I say that you aren't doing yourself or anyone else any favors by not expecting to be blessed! You are not being deep or spiritual and you are denying your heavenly Father the joy of simply giving to you! Whatever your reason for not expecting anything in return, according to scripture, to not expect a return is to NOT operate in faith in what God has promised in His Word.
Maybe for some, the problem is not in expecting a return, but in how or through whom we expect the return will come. Let us take our expectations off of individuals and place them on the only person who can meet and exceed every one of them! He didn't say that the same people you give to will give unto your bosom. He did say that "men" (people in general or whoever He chooses) will give unto your bosom.
Every time I see, hear, or sing these words I want to stop and explain to people just what Jesus is saying to us. These terms may not be heard very often any more unless you're still living in the south, or as we used to say, "in the country". But when you understand just what people mean when they say these phrases you'll come to the conclusion that you are not going to miss out on this promise.
When you would hear someone say that something was a "good measure" they were saying it was a lot. A plenty. Or that they were very happy with the amount.
When something is "pressed down" it makes room for more to be added. For instance, when you are putting clothes into a container, if you just plop them into it, it can look really full really quickly. But once you take your hands and press them down, you find that you now have room for even more. It could mean the difference in you using 1 suit case or 2, 3 baskets for laundry or 4.
When you buy flour and bring it home to store it in another container, have you noticed that if you "shake" the container a little, it causes the flour to settle down some and actually make room for more flour? That "shaking together" is what creates room for even more!
I don't even think I really have to explain the running over, but just to give you a visual if you don't have one by now, imagine your favorite beverage being poured into a glass or cup and instead of stopping at full, or enough, the person keeps pouring until the container overflows and spills over onto a saucer, the table, your clothes, the carpet or where ever it happens to land. Now imagine your blessings coming to you like what I just described. Imagine your blessings coming to you with a flash flood warning. This is your overflow! Your more than enough! Sounds to me like God is serious about blessing us when we GIVE!
So please, if you're one of those who is always giving and isn't expecting a return, adjust your mindset and begin to expect your promise of "good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over". Expect a return because it has been promised to you!
No comments:
Post a Comment