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Luke 6:38 - The Secret to Giving.

Luke 6:38 (NIV) 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 (NLT) Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full - pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back."

INTRODUCTION

This illustration comes from the marketplace where grain was poured out, shaken down, and then filled to overflowing so the buyer received the full amount purchased. Such is the full measure that will be returned to one who has been generous. [Nelson SB]

COMMENTARY PEARL

  Twenty-Five Shoeboxes Of Gifts For kids in need - a challenging yet reasonable goal for my immediate family and closest friends. I planned a packing party and sent email invitations 327 days before Christmas. Every two months, I shared an inspiring video about Operation Christmas Child and made suggestions for items to purchase for the boxes.
   As our November event approached, several people called to let me know they couldn't attend. I felt a tinge of disappointment, fearing my goal might slip out of reach. But then, the floodgates of heaven opened. Someone handed me cash to buy toys and picture books. Five boxes arrived by mail from out-of-state relatives, filled with reusable drink containers, whistles, handmade hats, harmonicas, sunglasses, and socks. Friends dropped off bags of stuffed animals, Matchbox cars, games, and deflated soccer balls with pumps. And the evening of the packing party? Well, so many sweet volunteers showed up to help that I lost count.
   We didn't meet my goal of twenty-five - we shot right past it to ninety-three! Witnessing the generosity of fellow believers lights my heart like a Christmas tree. Because they gave, almost 100 children will hear the message of salvation through Jesus. For many kids, the shoebox will be the only gift they get this holiday season. For some, it'll be the first present they've ever received in their lives.
   I'm already planning a packing party for next November. Would you like to come? Becky Alexander
   Faith Step: Give to a ministry that presents the hope of Jesus to children in need. [Mornings With Jesus 2023 Devotional by Guideposts and Zondervan]

COMMENTARY

   The words of God are the wellsprings of life. As you seek unto those living springs you will, through the Holy Spirit, be brought into communion with Christ. Familiar truths will present themselves to your mind in a new aspect, texts of Scripture will burst upon you with a new meaning as a flash of light, you will see the relation of other truths to the work of redemption, and you will know that Christ is leading you, a divine Teacher is at your side.
   Jesus said, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." John 4:14. As the Holy Spirit opens to you the truth you will treasure up the most precious experiences and will long to speak to others of the comforting things that have been revealed to you. When brought into association with them you will communicate some fresh thought in regard to the character or the work of Christ. You will have some fresh revelation of His pitying love to impart to those who love Him and to those who love Him not.
   "Give, and it shall be given unto you" (Luke 6:38); for the word of God is "a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and streams of Lebanon" (Song of Solomon 4:15). The heart that has once tasted the love of Christ, cries out continually for a deeper draft, and as you impart you will receive in richer and more abundant measure. Every revelation of God to the soul increases the capacity to know and to love. The continual cry of the heart is, "More of Thee," and ever the Spirit's answer is, "Much more." Romans 5:9, 10. For our God delights to do "exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think." Ephesians 3:20. To Jesus, who emptied Himself for the salvation of lost humanity, the Holy Spirit was given without measure. So it will be given to every follower of Christ when the whole heart is surrendered for His indwelling. Our Lord Himself has given the command, "Be filled with the Spirit" (Ephesians 5:18), and this command is also a promise of its fulfillment. It was the good pleasure of the Father that in Christ should "all the fullness dwell," and "in Him ye are made full." Colossians 1:19, R.V.; 2:10, R.V. MB 20, 21

   Liberality both in spiritual and in temporal things is taught in the lesson of seed sowing. The Lord says, "Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters." Isaiah 32:20. "This I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." 2 Corinthians 9:6. To sow beside all waters means a continual imparting of God's gifts. It means giving wherever the cause of God or the needs of humanity demand our aid. This will not tend to poverty. "He which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." The sower multiplies his seed by casting it away. So it is with those who are faithful in distributing God's gifts. By imparting they increase their blessings. God has promised them a sufficiency that they may continue to give. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom." Luke 6:38.
   And more than this is wrapped up in the sowing and the reaping. As we distribute God's temporal blessings, the evidence of our love and sympathy awakens in the receiver gratitude and thanksgiving to God. The soil of the heart is prepared to receive the seeds of spiritual truth. And He who ministers seed to the sower will cause the seed to germinate and bear fruit unto eternal life. COL 85-86

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Acts 20:35 - It Is More Blessed To Give Than To Receive.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230107-0909.html
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230107-0909.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/