A
generous man will prosper – Proverbs 11:25a
He
who refreshes others will himself be refreshed –Proverbs
11:25b.
It
is more blessed to give than to receive – Acts 20:35
These three biblical phrases are statements that
contain an exhortation and a promise. I’m convinced that many, maybe most,
believers have not grasped the depth of the meaning found within
each statement. The exhortation
is that we believers are to be givers. The promise is that we will be greatly rewarded as we embrace
and practice these three statements. Now lets’ look very carefully at each
phrase.
A
GENEROUS MAN WILL PROSPER!
What a great text. We are called to generosity.
This is a summons from God to all believers . . . yes, to you and to me . . .
to all of us. Not to the rich or the poor alone, but to all. This generosity
includes everything that He has given to us . . . money and time. God has given
us so much. We are to be channels from Him through us to others. Never stingy.
Never miserly. Just as God has generously given to us, let’s pursue the gift of
giving to others. Why? Because He models generosity to us. Also because He promises that we will
“prosper.” Some will say, “I can’t afford to be generous.” The greater truth is
that we can’t afford NOT to be generous.
HE
WHO REFRESHES OTHERS WILL HIMSELF BE REFRESHED!
There’s a boomerang
effect when you and I become refreshers and encouragers.
The text here says that we refreshers will be
refreshed. What we send out will ultimately come back to us. The refresher will
be refreshed. The encourager will be encouraged. Isn’t this good news? God confirms this to be true. Don’t argue with
the text. Be assured that it will happen. The text, however, does not give us
the details as to how it will be returned to us. We don’t know HOW or WHO or WHEN
we will be refreshed. But it will happen. God has promised us, that in His own way and
in His good timing we will be refreshed. He orchestrates the details. Sometimes
it might come directly from Him or indirectly (meaning He will send it to us through others). But either way, He is the One who will send
refreshment to us, as we refresh others. Let me illustrate it through our
ministry of Barnabas International. All of us in the organization spend our
lives ministering to others. As we serve, we are ministered to by others. We
continually see the Boomerang Effect. As we refresh others, we are refreshed by
others.
IT
IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE!
These words of Jesus are recorded in Acts 20:35, as
stated at the top of this letter. I will state it again . . . It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Here are a couple of translations of this same text:
Happiness lies more in giving than in receiving.
(NEB)
There is a greater blessing in giving than
in getting (BAS)
It makes one happier to give than to be
given to (GSDP)
As I have grown in my walk with God, He has helped
me to understand the reality of this text . . . not just a mental assent but a
genuine practice. As I have asked God to make me a giver, He has nudged me to
grow as a happy giver. My wife, Evie, and I have found this to be one of the
happier discoveries in life. Indeed God has blessed us through the financial
gifts of others to us. We have learned the reality of this text from God’s Word
and we have also learned it as seeing it lived out in the lives of some very
generous givers. It is likely that we have just begun to scratch the surface.
As we give, in fact the more we give, the joy has been multiplied over and over
. . . and over again. Yes, we have discovered the truth of Jesus’ Words. Have
you discovered this text in your own life? As you do, you will revel in the
truth of the words of Jesus.
Guest Post Written By,
Lareau Lindquist
Guest Post Written By,
Lareau Lindquist
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