The Principle of Generosity : Luke 6:38 : What Jesus Did! : HEARTLIGHT®

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The Principle of Generosity - Luke 6:38

"Give to other people, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands--more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to other people is the way God will give to you." (ERV) Full Text

Key Thought

The two areas where many of us can be the stingiest are money and forgiveness. So after all that Jesus taught us in the previous statements about graciousness and generosity, he now sums it up with these two summary principles: 1) our blessings will be based upon our willingness to bless others, and 2) our measure of treating and judging others will be the basis used for measuring and treating us by others and by God. In other words, God has been gracious with us; we can either share that graciousness or abuse it. Grace is wonderful and free until we take it off the market and out of circulation in our relationships. If we stymie, hold, or remove God's grace from circulation, it becomes damaged and lost with us. This stern warning reminds us again how seriously God takes our generosity with others.

Today's Prayer

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Father God, forgive my miserly forgiveness in the past. Forgive my previous condemning attitude toward others. Open my heart to share your generosity. Open my heart to give others the benefit of the doubt instead of judging them. Use me as a conduit of your generosity and grace. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

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Today's Verses in Context

"Don't judge other people, and you will not be judged. Don't condemn (find guilty) other people, and you will not be condemned. Forgive other people, and you will be forgiven. Give to other people, and you will receive. You will be given much. It will be poured into your hands--more than you can hold. You will be given so much that it will spill into your lap. The way you give to other people is the way God will give to you." Jesus told them this story: "Can a blind man lead another blind man? No! Both of them will fall into a hole. A student is not better than his teacher. But when the student has fully learned, then he will be like his teacher. "Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your brother's eye, but you don't see the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? You say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye.' Why do you say this? You can't see that big piece of wood in your own eye! You are a hypocrite. First, take the piece of wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother's eye.

— Luke 6:37-42 (ERV)

"Don't judge other people, and God will not judge you. If you judge other people, you will be judged in the same way you judge them. And the way you give to other people will be the way God gives to you. "Why do you notice the small piece of dust that is in your brother's eye, but you don't notice the big piece of wood that is in your own eye? Why do you say to your brother, 'Let me take that little piece of dust out of your eye'? Look at yourself first! You still have that big piece of wood in your own eye. You are a hypocrite. First, take the wood out of your own eye. Then you will see clearly to take the dust out of your brother's eye.
Matthew 7:1-5 (ERV)

Don't be fooled: You cannot cheat God. A person harvests only the things he plants. If a person plants (lives) to satisfy his sinful self, then his sinful self will bring him eternal death. But if a person plants to please the Spirit, he will get eternal life from the Spirit. We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest {of eternal life} at the right time. We must not give up! When we have the opportunity to do good to any person, we should do it. But we should give special attention to the people that are in the family of believers (the church).
Galatians 6:7-10 (ERV)

Remember this: The person who plants little will harvest only a little. But the person who plants much will harvest much. Each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give. A person should not give if it makes him sad. And a person should not give if he thinks he is forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily. And God can give you more blessings than you need. Then you will always have plenty of everything. You will have enough to give to every good work. Like the Scriptures say, "He gives generously to the poor; his kindness will continue forever." God is the One who gives seed to the person who plants. And he gives bread for food. And God will give you {spiritual} seed and make your seed grow. He will make a great harvest from your goodness (giving).
2 Corinthians 9:6-10 (ERV)

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HEARTLIGHT^® Magazine is produced by Heartlight, Inc. HEARTLIGHT is a registered service mark of Heartlight, Inc. PO Box 7044, Abilene, TX, USA 79608-7044. Copyright © 1996-2009. Heartlight is supported by Westover Hills Church, Southern Hills Church, and loving Christians from around the world. Scripture quotations are taken from the Easy-to-Read Version copyright © 2001 by World Bible Translation Center. Used by permission. All rights reserved.