THE ABUNDANCE OF GIVING

If we want to receive from the Lord, we need to be willing to sacrifice. You’ll hear the apostle Paul echo the same sentiments in 2 Corinthians 9:6, where he writes, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” It’s a simple principle but one that we too often ignore: God is going to measure out His blessings to you in accord with what you’ve measured out in your giving. If you give a lot, you will receive a lot; as Scripture says, it will be “pressed down, shaken together, running over.”

The imagery Christ used in Luke—the idea of pouring blessing into our laps—comes from the ancient Middle Eastern grain market. People would go into the grain market to purchase, literally, a lap-full of grain. The loose material of their garments extended all the way to the ground and was belted at the waist with a sash. When they went into the grain market, they would simply pull up some of that garment, looping it through the sash to create a huge pocket. The grain would be dumped into the makeshift pouch, literally filling their laps (Ruth 3:15).

This would have been an everyday experience for the crowd listening to Jesus in Luke 6, and they would have immediately understood the meaning of the illustration. The Lord wants to overflow your life with His blessings, and those blessings correspond to your own generosity—in fact, they’re triggered by it. Your giving is a direct route to the abundant blessings of God in your life.

Greedily storing up wealth and resources limits their usefulness to your own selfish purposes. It’s far better to surrender them to the purposes of God and reap the tremendous blessings of being part of what He’s accomplishing in the lives of His people.

Faithful, sacrificial giving also knits you into the life of your church. In one simple act you’re helping support your pastor and the rest of your church’s staff, meet the needs of missionaries supported by your church, provide for the maintenance of your church building and other facilities, fulfill physical and financial needs within your congregation, and much more. And on top of all that, the Lord uses your support of ministries like Grace to You to reach people in your part of the world and beyond with the truth of Scripture.

Remain Blessed and have a rewarding harvest season!