The Measure part 5
I want to quote my memory verse up top so that we can really dig into it. Luke 6:38, "Give, 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." And, listen, I know this is a New Testament verse, but it almost sounds like an Old Testament "if then" statement. If you give, then you will be given. Which we know is NOT how it works in the New Covenant. We don't give in order to get. We give because He has given to us. Its not about getting. And while there are obvious benefits to being blessed... the biggest one is that we CAN bless others. We are blessed... to be a blessing. Look at this verse in the Message Bible, "Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back--given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity." The same measure that you mete out, you will experience. Because, again, as always, its not about getting. Its about experiencing what you've got by giving it away. Giving your life away is how you experience Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of love. Letting HIM live His own life the only way to live. And that means loving people. A life of love isn't about trying to get love. Its about giving the love that you've got. Receiving and releasing the love of God. Letting what's inside come out. By knowing and believing that its in there. The point HAS to be on what you're giving. If you're focused on getting, or if you're focused on what you don't have... you'll never be able to enjoy what you DO have. You will rob yourself of what you do have. The measure of a man is not what he has. Its what he does with what he has. How he treats people. God and people. Relationship. Loving God and loving people. Loving God BY loving people. That's what this life is really all about. So God, in His infinite wisdom, gave us everything we needed in order to have those relationships. To connect to one another. He gave us THE measure of faith so that we could know and believe that He has given us THE measure of Himself. The FULNESS of Himself. All of Himself. All of His love. All of His mercy, and grace, and forgiveness. God filled us up with Himself. And when we fill ourselves to overflowing with what we've already been filled with, that's when what's inside comes out. When we let God love the hell out of us, that's when we can love the hell out of each other. So give your life away. Lay your life down for your friends. And you'll see that giving isn't ABOUT getting... but the more you give, the more you have. Because you can't give what you don't have. And you can only give what you do have. Experiencing life is about loving people. Period. And love is giving. LIFE is giving. Giving everything you have and everything you are. A life of service is a life worth living. That's the measure of it.