Scripture Lesson: Luke 6:30-38
30Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. 31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. 32For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. 33And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. 34And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. 35But 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. 36Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. 37Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: 38Give, 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.
Meditation
In Luke chapter 6, Jesus teaches about love for enemies and judging others. It is nestled in these scriptures that he also teaches about lending and giving. But it is not what you may expect.
Many of us have passed beggars on the street. Perhaps we have given to them a few times, but generally we will pass them by. We think that they may do something illegal with the money. Besides, we want to be good stewards over our finances and do not want to cast our pearl to swine. We work hard for our money and if we give to someone or something we want to make sure that it is for a good cause.
What about loaning money to people? We have been taught that it is not good business to loan to someone that probably cannot repaid the loan. Jesus teaching blows a hole in both of these ways of thinking. We are not only to give to those that ask, but we are to lend to those that can’t pay. What kind of teaching is that?
It is the kind of teaching that our promise for today is found in. We are told that even sinners lend and give to those that they expect can repay them. But we are to be different. We are to give and not expect to receive anything back from them. We are told if we do, our reward will be great.
Where will this reward come from? What kind of reward will it be? We are simply told to give. If we give, it will be given unto us, good measured, pressed down, shaken together and running over. Where will it come from? It will come from others. People will give to you. How? It is how the universe is set up. It was designed by God to operate this way.
What a wonderful promise. When we give, we set things in motion in the universe for that good to come back to us multiplied. Well what about the people we are giving to. They don’t deserve it. Exactly. Luke 6:36 tells us to be merciful just as our Father is merciful. We are not to judge or condemn, just give. And when we give, we have a promise that what we receive will be far greater than what we gave.
Affirmations
I am a giver. I am a lender and not a borrower. I will give and not expect anything from the person that I give to. I know that my reward is great. I rejoice and I am grateful for the promise that if I give, more will come back to me. In Jesus Name, Amen.
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