Give

Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over shall men give unto your bosom. Luke 6:38

This is one of those verses that tend to get memorized early in a Christian walk.  I've known it for years.  What follows are some musings on this verse as I meditated it during one of my runs.  (side note - still not sure I can call what I do running :) Still doing it by faith though).
Give:  this is my job, and actually the only job for me in this verse.  I can give every day - time, money, kindness, help, words...I also give what I have to give.  It doesn't have to have lots of zeros or get on the 6:00 news to be a gift.  My job is to give what I can, when I can, and do it with the right heart.


And it shall be given unto you:  here I receive - simple.



Good measure:  a good measure is a couple things.  It can be a lot.  Lots of gold coins is a good measure. A hand full of pennies not so much so.  It could also be just the right amount.  A good measure of something will make the recipe, pay the bill, put gas in the car, build a house, etc.  If I need 2 gallons of paint to paint my bedroom and I have 1.5 gallons - that is not a good measure.

Pressed down:  Having recently turned veggie (another blog topic, I'm sure) I know that when you use tofu it is recommended that you press the water out of the block.  Pressing releases things and creates a better product.

Shaken together:  I have been baking bread.  I was always taught that when you measure flour you shouldn't shake it down in the measuring cup because that will pack it down and you will have too much!  I would a little "too much" in some areas of my life!

Running over:  What would you like to "run over" in your life?  Money?  Jobs?  Love?  Patience? Laughter?  Running over is the ultimate gift.  I have enough for me and I can give the run over away.  Kind of like living off the interest. 

And so the cycle repeats itself.  If I can begin to invest in giving - at every level - I can begin to receive at every level.

Here's to giving!