Giving like the Giver

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will 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 to you.

Last night I experienced my favorite part of the holidays. Behind closed doors, Parker, Will, and Sydney all worked feverishly in their rooms wrapping the gifts that they had purchased for others. After the tape was torn, bows were attached and tags were filled out, they emerged with smiles on their faces and arranged them perfectly under the tree. Then they sat at the dinner table and talked non-stop about who was going to like what gift the most and which gift they were most excited about giving. Not bad for two 11 year-olds and a 7 year-old. Actually, not bad no matter what the age.

I told them all later how much joy it gave me and their mother to hear them talk so excitedly about the presents they were giving as opposed to the ones they would be getting, and that attitudes like theirs made us enjoy giving to them all the more. I couldn’t help but think of this verse and how it’s been taught so incorrectly over the years. I remember even seeing a charm once with a shovel and a wheelbarrow that tried to interpret this verse in a “you can’t out-give God” kind of a way. I get that on some levels, but I think that verses like this can get cheapened by analogies like that, because they miss the point that true giving never needs any motivation to give other than wanting to see another person be blessed. Who cares if there’s a wheelbarrow that might be full for us, because if we truly understand giving, we’ll probably just give that away, too.

I want to give like the Giver, free of the hope that my generosity will be returned or that someone will see what I’ve done. I want to give freely so that others can freely use what I’ve given, and until I can do that, I have a lot to learn from my children.

How about you?

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