YOU CANNOT EXPECT WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GIVEN

Luke 6:37-38 NKJV “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

Many of things Jesus presented in today’s text are outflows and represent a state one strives to become: merciful, not judging, not condemning, forgiving and giving.

While these attributes or traits appear to be in the interest of other people, the real beneficiaries of such a state of being is ourself, because those attributes align with the very nature of God himself.

• If God were to mark our guilt, who would survive?
• If He were to demand from us the price of our sin, that would be death.
• If He were to withhold from us Jesus, His son, then where would we be?
• If God were to judge us according to His firm standards, not tempering justice with mercy, do we even stand a chance?

Whenever we are faced with situations where we begin to ponder on questions like: “should we forgive; should we be merciful; or should we give?, we ought to bear in mind that God has covered us for more than we can even imagine. It may sound like a simple statement, but “God has indeed dealt bountifully with you” – Let that sink in for a moment.

There are many times when He seemingly appears to lose to us, and the only reason He gives us a long rope is so that in time, we can find our way back to Him. The least we can do then is return that same dealing to others.

#sly