Thanks for stopping by! This is Day 21 of my 2015 “31 Days Reflecting on God” series. Find the rest over here.
But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him. James 1:5
Give, and it will be given to you: A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use will be the measure you receive. Luke 6:38
God calls us to be faithful stewards of all he’s given us. He tells us to work hard and to take care of our families. He asks us to be responsible. He blesses the work we do with our hands.
And he asks us to give generously to others.
Why? Why doesn’t he just take care of everyone’s needs through their own work? Why does he use us to help care for each other?
Because he loves to give. He finds joy in giving to us, and created us to be like him. He knows that when we give, we will find the same joy. We imitate our generous Creator when we give to others.
Of course he expects everyone to be faithful with the work he gives them to do. But he allows this give and take in the world. Some can work hard and still not have enough. Others have more than enough. And when we share with each other as we see those needs we experience the joy of giving.
This isn’t all about money, either. We hold far more resources than money in our hands. We have time. Laughter. Homes. Abilities. Talents. Gifts. Character qualities. Support.
I am tempted to think, “If I give this [blank] away, then I won’t have what I need for myself.” But that is short-selling God. He’s the one who provided everything for me in the first place. So I can trust that if I give something away, he’ll take care of the void it left behind.
God is a never-ending storehouse. He has all the wisdom in the world, so when we ask, like James writes, for wisdom, he gives it to us generously. He owns the cows on a thousand hills, the psalms say, so if we use some of our resources for others, he can pull from his other resources to pay us back.
God never owes anyone anything. We can never give so much that we out-give God. I love the passage above from Luke. If I have a basket of grain that I give to my neighbor, it says, God’s going to refill that basket, and shake it down, and pack it in and give me back every kernel of grain and more that I passed on to the person in need before me. That’s just the way he is, always and forever.