Some of our favorite words that Jesus spoke on the subject of giving are: "If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. Whatever measure you use in giving — large or small — it will be used to measure what is given back to you" (Luke 6:38 NLT).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the blessings of giving. Here are four points to consider.
Compassion
It was compassion that moved Jesus to give. It is His spirit of giving that He wants to instill in each of us. It is His chosen method for imparting blessings to us that come through no other means. Compassion giving can include food, clothing, time, talents, services, resources, and more. Compassion giving meets needs. It meets the needs of people around us, it meets the needs presented by a church active in proclaiming the gospel, and it meets our need to give. Giving protects us from the pitfalls of selfishness. It fosters a heart of compassion.
Compensation
When you keep on giving to God, He keeps on giving back to you. Give more to the Lord, and He gives more back to you. Give. Give much. Give until it helps. Give until you feel you have given your all, then give a little more. It’s that kind of giving that results in full-measure-pressed-down-shaken-together-running-over blessings. God’s scales of compensation are tilted toward us. That should cause us to give with excitement, enthusiasm, and anticipation remembering Christ’s words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).
Compounding
God compounds our giving. He takes the widow's mite and accomplishes far more with her little “all” than the token riches of the reluctant wealthy. It works on the same principle as compound interest. As we make a commitment to God in our giving we also will be able to proclaim, as did David, "My cup runneth over" (Psalm 23:5). God desires to shower upon us abundant blessings, blessings that rise to the top of our spiritual cups and overflow into the lives of others. Is your giving relationship with Christ so dynamic that it overflows?
Countering
The last part of our text indicates that God counters our gift — He reciprocates. In other words, God chooses to hold back when we hold back. Or, if we choose to give more, God gives more. The more we give, the more God gives. We cannot out-give God. He measures what we give, how we give, and why we give. He measures the entire process. He looks outwardly and inwardly, individually and collectively. He is seeking partnerships.
In His appeal through the prophet Malachi, God even asks us to prove it — to put Him to the test. He is asking us to enter into a giving relationship with Him.
When my parents gave me my first allowance, they taught me the importance of returning a tithe and giving a freewill offering. It seemed hard to me since I only had a small sum to begin with. Nonetheless, a principle practiced, simply because I was instructed to do so, began to take root in my heart as I experienced God’s principle of multiplying.
I continued the practice through my teen years, but it wasn’t until I was married with two children that my faith was challenged. Through that challenge I began to understand God’s faithfulness and His promise to multiply our giving. There have been multiple times when returning a faithful tithe meant that we were at zero, financially. However, each time God has been true to His promises by providing unexpected blessings of which we had no prior knowledge, such as a surprise payroll bonus or wage increase from the company I worked for, or refund checks from creditors, or unsolicited cash gifts from people praying for us, or finding over $40 blowing in the street, and the list goes on.
God invites us to prove Him. He wants to give us evidence of the blessings that come from a partnership with Him. I can say from my personal experience that He is faithful. No matter how hard I've tried, I cannot outgive God. The more we give to Him, the more He gives back to us.
As we bring closure to the year 2004, let us resolve to enter into and deepen that partnership and giving relationship that God desires, so we might receive the blessings we need and He delights to give.
Glynn Scott is the Lake Union Conference treasurer.
Text for sidebar
1. Conferences within the Lake Union have received a total of $38,513,295 through August. This represents a slight increase of $354,965 (0.93%) over the same period in 2003, placing us below the rate of inflation. We praise God for faithful members who continue to give during a slow performance in the economy that has affected the midwest region of America more than any other section of the country. Our commitment is to prayerfully utilize each dollar to maximize the advancement of the gospel throughout our territory.
2. The Lake Union Conference distributes a total of $7.2 million from local conference tithe sharing, North American Division tithe reversions, and donations to: Education, which includes K–12 and Andrews University; Other, which includes Lake Region Conference capital reversions, the North American Division retirement plan, and misc. appropriations; Church, which includes general evangelism, youth programs, and multi-cultural ministries; Support, which includes auditing, group medical, Lake Union Herald, and general administration; and Special, which includes communication, computer systems, religious liberty, and trust services.
