Give, And It Shall Be Given

Give, and It Shall Be Given by Gene Poore For many, when the holiday gift season arrives, thoughts of receiving often camouflage thoughts of giving. Such “givers” measure the cost of gifts against the gift value expected in return. Thankfully, the Son of Man never measured the value of His gift. Jesus gave “His life a ransom for many” (Mk 10:45), a onetime gift–free--to whomever would accept God’s gift. What if Jesus offered salvation in direct proportion to what we give in return? What measured value could we give for everlasting life? None, of course, because everlasting life remains free, given “By grace ... through faith ... [as] the gift of God....” (Eph 2:8-9). However, while we thrive on this planet, we can receive plenty of material blessings in return for our generosity. Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (LK 6:38). Why so much in return? Because God loves a cheerful giver. God returns blessings in direct measurement to what we give in time, money, talent, happiness, love, and aid to others. Yes, we can have so much more than we already have. We can receive whatever our heart craves because “[The Lord] shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” (Ps 37:4). However, the first part of that verse says, “Delight thyself also in the Lord.” To delight in the Lord, we must give our heart to Christ. After we give our heart as a gift to Christ, God answers another prayer, a prayer for healing. Like from the Hebrew Testament, we pray for healing: “Lord, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.” (Ps 41:4). God answers: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chr 7:14). What “land” do we need healed? A mate pondering separation or divorce? A child preparing to run away from home? A family oozing hostility between members? Perhaps our “land” we need healed comes from an uncontrollable thirst for strong drink or drugs, an unsuppressed temper, or abusive or foul language. Because each of us has “land” we need healed, God promised that if people, which are called by His name, will do certain things, He will heal our land. Thus, we must become God’s people, a member of God’s family, by accepting God’s son Jesus. Jesus, who gave His life on the cross to absorb our sins and iniquities. Jesus, buried and resurrected on the third day to live forever. Jesus, God ordained as assurance to all. When we believe Jesus died to open Heaven’s door for each of us, and ask Jesus to come into our heart and forgive our sins, we become a member of God’s family. We become one of God’s people called Christians. Once Christ’s Spirit fills our heart, we humble ourselves, we pray, we seek God’s face, because we have turned from our wicked ways. Then God will “hear from heaven, and will forgive [our] sin, and will heal [our] land” because we gave our heart to God’s Son, Jesus the Christ.