I must begin by confessing I am a terrible gift giver. No excuses either. I just don’t have the nack. I want to, I even work at it. I enjoy giving to people, buying them things, dropping things off, and even spoiling people. Truth is, I’m not a natural. Christmas is boring around me. I end up buying people t-shirts and snacks. I have known some amazing givers. One man recently gave me a gift that I know he had been thinking of for months. That is amazing to me. What an encourager! Truthfully, I have accepted that I am not that great at it, but I do appreciate the ones who are.
Nevertheless, we are commanded to give, be a giver, and be generous as one. Obedience doesn’t take much skill. All you have to do to obey, is well, obey. The ones who have that spiritual gift are uniquely made by God to do such a thing. It doesn’t mean the Holy Spirit doesn’t prompt me to pay for someone’s meal, or volunteer to give a gift to someone in need on the street. I think God does His best giving through others. Speaking of that, the scripture tells us that others give to us, by God, because of our giving. The Gospel of Luke records Jesus speaking of this very thing— “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6.38). Notice that the giving back to the original obedient giver is done so by others— “men give unto your bosom”. It seemingly falls into you lap. I have many stories to tell of when someone dropped the exact thing in my lap I needed to pay a bill or cover what was heading my way I didn’t even see yet. God. That is all that could explain it. He knows and He takes care of me, His child.
Did you also notice in the verse the measure of gift? It is proportionate to what you gave. The Widow gave all she had (Mark 12.42), but you may be prompted to give a certain amount. God knows and we shouldn’t be comparing to others, what their capability of giving is, or what we are trying to prove. God prompts, and we obey… that simple. Luke 6.38 says— “…with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” This means that proportionately God will give back and out give your original gift. He says this with— “…and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…”. I like that! He gives in such a way to ‘pack it in’ as much as possible. It reminds me of sending care packages to missionaries overseas. When you’re packing the box or crate you make sure to pack it a tight as possible with no wasted space. You need to make sure you put the biggest items in first and then cram the smaller ones in succession around the larger items. You also plan by putting the most important items in closer to the first, just in case you run out of room. You want to make sure to put the best in— “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…”
What a great God we serve! You truly can’t out give the Giver, can you. Recently my family has been ill. During the illness, our church family has sent things to our house, brought by meals, and made sure to encourage with phone calls and texts. It indeed blessed us, and I am glad to be friends with these people. I know who really gave it to me though… God. He prompts His kids to move with compassion and we have the choice to obey, or miss out in God’s handiwork. I like it when God asks me to work with Him, don’t you? Listen to the Spirit’s promptings. He is trying to include you in His latest gift giving operation. It is an awesome thing to work for the Giver.