Give

Mat 5:2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying…

Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

How often are we asked and we don't give?

How often do we say no?

How often do we begrudgingly say yes?

How often do we say no to those wanting to borrow from us?

Can you think of one instance for each of these?

Our Savior tells us…

GIVE.

GIVE.

Give until you have no more to give.

Give as He gave.

He gave all.

When we refuse to give of what we have we are denying others worldly things, things that in the long run do not matter in eternity. We cling to dead, lifeless things. All the money in the world is dead, is lifeless, and cannot contribute a single bit towards eternity. Nothing we have pads our future in eternity.  People have used this truth to swindle others out of their entire life savings. Because there is TRUTH to this and people recognize the truth only another truth is this-

Mat_7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

The truth that all we have means nothing is real.

Are we to give everything to others and be left destitute?

Where do we draw the lines?  Do we draw them at our needs being taken care of first and what's left others can have?  What's this mean then--

Mar 12:41  And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.

Mar 12:42  And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Mar 12:43  And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:

Mar 12:44  For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.

She of her WANT did cast in ALL THAT SHE HAD even all her living.

She cast in more than all the others who gave in ways that did NOT affect their own abundance, their own needs, their own desires.

Jesus said this--

Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

Mat 19:22  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.

Why would selling all that he had make this young man perfect?

Because he would give to the poor- those in real need.

Jesus was promising Him a LIFE with HIM.

How could he refuse a LIFE supported in all things by our SAVIOR?

He didn't know, he didn't comprehend that it was His Savior telling him to trust HIM for ALL THINGS he'd need. He didn't know that following His SAVIOR was the REAL key to the eternal life he sought.  He put a HIGHER price on the things he owned than on ETERNITY with JESUS CHRIST.

Are we guilty of this very same thing?!

We Jesus says this--

Mat 5:42  Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.

He isn't saying to us that same thing He told that man. He didn't tell us ALL to sell everything. He is telling us to GIVE to those who ASK, to those that want to borrow from us- LET THEM.

GIVE, ALLOW.

This is compassion, this is love, this is our SAVIOR'S example, this is our SAVIOR'S teaching… may we LEARN, by HIS GRACE!