Remain in Me. The branch is of the vine. I nourish that you might produce. Many are the lures of the enemy. My children wander as sheep. In plenty and in want, the lure of betterment is the call of the wolf. Seek not to receive, but to give; to produce, than to horde. He who desires for self, separates. The greatest treasure of earth given is in depletion; the fullness of life given at birth, depleted fully in age. This is the treasure given, that greater might be given in return. Each has been given allotment, without known count of their days. Trade this and My daily blessing, that you would give more than received. The branch cannot produce with only the substance of the branch; it receives from the vine the greatest when itself prepares to give. The branch that does not seek to give, will not receive, and death will be its end. I give early that you may grow, but only grow that you may give, and give the more. The desire of the Spirit, and of the Father and Son, is to give, and the children of God seek again to give as they have received. For the vineyard puts forth only, and receives only what it needs to continue in giving. Abundantly will I give to the generous, and great will be his fruit at the depletion of his years, and greater still, his reward.
Luke 6:38 (ESV) – “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Bottom Line: I get why so many non-believers think Christianity doesn’t make sense. There are lots of strange, non-intuitive, seemingly backward relationships in our faith. We are taught a servant is great, and the lower the servant, the better. We’re taught that we should offer the other cheek to a bully. That we must forgive unforgivable people. That we should expect reward and joy in sacrifice, and we should loan things to people without ever expecting it back. That we should love those that hate us, and do good to those that want to do us harm. Rejoice in suffering. Die to find life, and to top it all, put an invisible God as #1, before ourselves, others or the visible, tangible, attainable pleasures of the world.
Now those of us that have walked with God, we know that those principles work, but to those that are just hearing peripherally what we believe, that is a big pill to swallow; and even for us, some of those concepts are still chokers.
The one we are being reminded of today, is that giving is better that receiving, and that in God’s economy, we gain by giving things away. Specifically our “treasure” and our time: and that’s not confined to tithing and volunteering at church. It extends to our everyday living as a “generous person”, and in the context of our devotional, specifically in the workplace.
That takes some thought, especially if you don’t consider yourself a naturally generous person, and sometimes the best way to learn is to watch others that you would consider generous. The intern that sometimes brings donuts on Friday. The coworker that donates his vacation hours to those that need it. The single mother of two that puts the time aside to prepare and lead the workplace Bible study each week. The boss that took the time to shop and drive two hours north of his home, to bring a full Christmas dinner to my family the year I lost my dad. Those are the people to emulate, that exude the generosity that God promises to reward.
Yes. We do believe as Christians that we give away to receive. Might seem a bit backwards to the world, but let’s show them how it works, as His Word works in you, today.
