Give With Good Measure

This morning I felt like reading from Luke's Gospel, and spending some time thinking about the character of Jesus, especially as we prepare to celebrate His birth.  I was enjoying the sixth chapter and came upon the following verses, and thought they were worthy of additional reflection - Luke 6:37-38 NIV:

[37] “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. [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.”

My first thought after reading these verses is how important our actions are in how we are treated.  The verses immediately preceding these have to do with loving our enemies, and in those verses Jesus puts forth some very challenging teaching about we should treat even our worst enemies.  He calls us to love them, pray for them, and be merciful just as our Father in Heaven in Merciful.  Pretty challenging stuff.  He then moves into these verses and basically calls us to take responsibility for our actions, and explains that how we treat others is how we will be treated.  Don't judge, don't condemn and definitely do forgive.  This seems to fly in the face of the entitlement mentality, where we think everyone owes us some unpaid debt.  

Jesus is basically saying we shouldn't hold a grudge, shouldn't take offense and and shouldn't keep track of wrongs done to us, or experienced.  As He ended the previous verses, He is calling us to embrace Our Father's heart.  We are called to forgive, to be open about the value and past experiences of people, to not rush into criticism, or judgment because we don't know their situation or circumstances, and certainly not to call down condemnation on anyone.  Wouldn't this be a great message to be heard in church?

He encourages us to forgive, and to give. If we are willing to give, that appears to open up a generosity on the Father's part that is not equal to our giving, but an abundance. The imagery He uses appears to be grain, and a speaks of the measure we use being the one the Father uses in return.  However, it appears that the Father is not satisfied in just using the same measure, He presses it down to add more, He shakes it to make sure He can get as much as possible into the measure, and finally He adds more on top until it is overflowing!   Notice that He doesn't say what to give, just to give.  This opens up an abundance of scenarios - give life, give encouragement, give love, give mercy, give compassion, give time, give understanding, give forgiveness, give significance, give value, give peace, give your attention, give transparency, give, give, give, give.  This is the kind of gift that I think we should most consider during this season!

Jesus certainly lived by these words.  He is the one true judge, yet he didn't come to judge.  He could of condemned the world, yet He came to save it.  He who was betrayed, tortured and killed, forgave it all, and even paid for the very sins committed against Him. He gave of Himself, gave us everything!  He who is life, who is truth, who is the way - gave to us Himself, completely.

So in these season of celebration, celebrating the greatest gift ever given, Jesus Himself, let us give to one another gifts that will bring life, and significance to one another!  Let us love with abandon, for whatever measure we use, He will use in return!  Give with a good measure, a huge measure, and watch the Lord return that with abundance into our laps!