OPEN HANDS

Give and it shall be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap.  For with the measure you use, it will be measured you.  Luke 6:38 (NASB)

     Bills piling up faster than the money coming in seems the usual this time of the month. Holding onto the tithe a little longer until I see the rest of the deposits coming that would go for our impatient bills is a temptation, but only as a fleeting thought. Too many years of experience have taught me to be generous and trust God for his provision.

     I just read an older book of Jack Taylor’s, God's Miraculous Plan of Economy, where he told of how John D. Rockefeller at the age of fifty-five was only eating crackers and milk and for five years and could not sleep for an hour solid without waking up due to his debilitating illnesses. He reconciled himself to dying soon, and was miserable, even with so much wealth.  

     So he decided to do something he had not done up to this point in his life. He started giving away his money to start universities, start foundations, the money went all over to benefit others outside of his family.  

     At the end of the first year, after he started this giving spree, Rockefeller was completely healed of all of his maladies and never suffered from these health-related illnesses again. He actually lived thirty-five more years until the ripe old age of ninety-seven.

     Up until this time, as a Baptist, he tithed to the church, but offerings above and beyond that he had not given. It was after he started giving on a generous level that he received his healing. He was not a perfect saint, but the principle is very obvious here as to what the turning point was in his life and for which he credits his longevity.

     So what am I supposed to give? Everything! I am to give God my all...time, money, work, talent, and anything else he taps me on the shoulder for. As the scripture says, we will be given according to what we use to bless others. 

     Looking down at the baby gift for the next door neighbor I smile. I look forward to blessing the parents and seeing their sweet new baby girl. The gift is not all that matters, sure it will take care of some needs, but by coming face to face and admiring their precious little baby girl, it displays a gift of love and time that makes an impression on hearts and lets them know they are valued and thought of. I pray they will know how God loves them.

     I know how he delights in us because even today when I was preparing for our Thursday Nites ladies study group, God just kept dropping ideas into my head to get Valentine’s candy for the women and to enclose a scripture telling them that they are His beloved.

     I know how I love to hear that I am the apple of my husband’s eye. How much more comforting and pleasing is it for us to know we are cherished in God’s eyes. He designed each one of us so uniquely for the destiny and adventures we would live in life.

     Give, and it shall be given you. Since God gave, we can give out of his vast resources.

     All of nature demonstrates the benevolence of giving. What did we do to deserve the beautiful apples that the trees give away so generously? or the tomato plant that bore the green tomatoes until they ripened? Look around and see that this is the basic rule of life.  Be in the moment and be ready to give what you have in your hand to bless another.

     I can promise you that when your heart is pure and you give with joy, your hands will never be empty.