GIVING - LUKE 6:35-38

35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 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. KJV

We commonly hear verse 38 quoted when it comes to giving. However, let us examine giving in the light of love. If you noticed in the preceding verses the Lord is teaching on love. In verse 27 Jesus says “to love our enemies” then He gives us a few ways to show our love by speaking well of people and praying to God for those who come against us. Then Jesus speaks on “giving” in verse 30 and in verse 31 Jesus speaks of treating others as you would like to be treated. We have heard of treating others like you would treat yourself as the Golden Rule. We typically say that only a Christian equipped with the Love of God can love like God loves but that is not true because whosoever will yield to God’s Love can Love like God Loves. In verse 32 Jesus reminds us that anyone can love those that love them, the real challenge comes from loving those who really don’t like you. Verse 33 speaks of doing good to those who are good to you. Jesus continues with the subject of giving in the form of lending money to those who you know can pay you back. Then we pickup with what we just read by repeating the statement from Jesus to “love your enemies and do them good and lend them money”. The thought we need to understand is that we love all people first, because if we don’t love someone, anything we do for them will not reflect God’s intimate Love for them. It is because we love people that we are willing to do them good and even give them money. Now we must caution everyone to only lend money that you can afford to give away. If you can not afford to do without a certain amount of money you are not in a position of abundance (extra) and for that reason alone do not lend (or give) until you do have some extra money in your life. The Lord tells us in the following verses 36 and 37 exactly how to love. We show our love for others by showing them mercy, not judging them, not condemned them by speaking evil of their name and forgiving them when necessary. This type of behavior places us in our proper position in Christ. When we are in that position giving can be done with a clear conscience and a compassionate heart because we are allowing God’s Love to flow freely to others. Since the Lord speaks of giving and love in the same teaching we also should think of giving from a heart of love. Although giving is good it is only acceptable before God if your heart is like His Heart. A heart of God’s Love is a heart that understands the purpose of giving and rejoices in fact that God has giving them extra to give to others in need. Praise the Lord for an opportunity to partake in this ministry of love. Giving is never just a matter of giving money but more importantly it is a matter of giving love, being merciful, being non-judgmental, never condemning people, and forgiving those who offend you. Giving money is the latter part of these verses, the Lord’s first instructions focus on love. Amen.

Let us keep first things first by loving those to whom we give,
not because they deserve it but simply because we love them.

In His Love, Eric & Angela Foster

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