January 2, 2015
Luke 6:38 (NIV)
(All scripture is from the New King James Version unless otherwise indicated.)
I took a four-blog break for Christmas and New Years to write about subjects related to the season. But there is one more gem I would like to dig out from Luke 6:38 (NIV) and the subject of Giving and Getting. And that gem is, “What is the measure that Jesus is talking about?”
Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken to-
gether and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure
you use, it will be measured to you.
If we look through scripture at the word measure, we find in Deuteronomy 25:13 through 16 that God told the Israelites through Moses:
You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. You
shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. You
shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your
days may be lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
For all who do such things, and all who behave unrighteously, are an
abomination to the LORD your God.
God demands that we act rightly in the small matters as well as the large issues of life! And that right action is to come from inward righteousness which only God Himself – through the Lord Jesus Christ – can give us from the inside out! It all starts with accepting the invitation that Jesus gave us in Matthew 11:28: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” When we realize that our sins – and the burdens our sinful choices have caused us to bear – are just too heavy to carry any longer, then we can find relief by asking Jesus Christ to come into our lives as our Savior, and to take over our lives as our Lord, and to give us new life and direction by His Holy Spirit! He says in Revelation 3:20, “If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in….” As stated before: When we are led by Him, our lives should then reflect righteousness in small things as well as big things.
God uses “…a perfect and just measure…” to measure back to us when we measure out to someone else – bad as well as good! In Galatians 6:7 and 8 Paul writes:
Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he
will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption,
but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.
It’s the old addage: “You reap what you sow!” Some wag once said, “Some people sow wild oats and then pray for a crop failure!” Sorry, it doesn’t work that way! It is the law of Genesis 1:11 (and stated several times in following verses): “…the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind…”! In creation, like produces like! In the spiritual realm, it is also true – you will get what you give! That is why Paul in the very next verse in our Galatians passage above, says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.” (Galatians 6:9). Keep on doing good to others in the name of Jesus Christ, for He will richly pay you back in His time!
There is an Old Testament passage written by King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 12:13 and 14 that says the same thing as Paul said in Galatians 6:7 and 8:
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring
every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether it is good,
or whether it is evil.
You just can’t escape God’s perfect and righteous judgments! You will “…reap what you sow!” So again, Keep on doing good!
But there is one more thing in our Luke 6:38 passage I want to emphasize: For His giving back God uses “A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.” Yes, it is the same measure, but bigger – lots bigger! Now how God can get away with the same measure being bigger is something I can’t quite figure out! Let’s just say that His measure is an exact replica of ours – only giant-sized!
If we take in this truth and really believe it – that we can never out-give God! – then we will never be hesitant to give to Him and His work whenever His leading inspires us! We will give abundantly of our treasure, our time, our talents – whatever God asks us to give!