The Real Meaning of ‘The more you give, the more you receive’
I was coming down from Mount Dandenong where I often go to reflect. I get a lot of inspirations from looking at God’s creation: the trees, the leaves on the ground, the birds singing or simply chirping, the raindrops, the wind, the sea, the clouds in the sky and all his amazing living things. You can see God’s hand everywhere; His fingerprint and His footprint. Stop and look; be still and listen; quieten the heart. Listen to the gentle whisper of the Lord and look with God in your eyes. Think with God in your mind. Let into your heart what is right and just.
As I was coming down the mountain, the Good Lord put a thought in my head. He asked me what I understood by ‘the more you give, the more you receive’. I thought in my head ‘the more you give is when you give when you are least able to give’. I was pleased with the answer I gave. The ‘more’ is not about the total quantity; it is about how much more we give when we can least afford to give. The Lord added more thoughts in me: When we think of how much we give, He sees how much we keep. How much are we keeping back? It is also about here and now. It is not about wanting to help only when our situation is right; when we are better off or we suddenly had a windfall and become rich and then we can and will surely help.
How much can you give to help someone right now?
It is not just financial help. It is also the time we give to help someone. We often lament and tell someone how we want to help but we just do not have the time. Give someone your time and see how much more time you realised you have. Give and you will receive in multiplication. The Lord gives in abundance. On Sunday 21st June 2015, I was at church for the 9.30 am mass. As I prayed in church I also asked the Lord for a hug. I can do with a hug now Lord, I am troubled. With eyes closed, I tried to feel His warmth hug but there was none. But I received a thought ‘I will give you a hug to give someone’. Huh? I do not understand? After church, I spoke to a dear brother and sister to offer friendship, support, comfort and encouragement. I realised after that the lord had already comforted me to comfort someone. Comfort someone to be comforted. Give and receive. That’s His way. We just didn’t see it. When I reached home about 11:00am now, I reflected on His words from yesterday and today. The message is the same. Give for (on His behalf; as He does) Me and I will give you back in more ways than you know.
I understood what the Lord was telling me. I used to and sometimes still think that I must balance my Account. There must always be a balance of debit and credit for my peace of mind. Otherwise, I cannot rest. If someone did me wrong, they must pay back with a credit. Balancing this T Account is keeping a record and keeping track of what others have done to me. It is making me angry and bringing me pain. I am being hurt over and over again. Why hurt yourself and become hard. Forgive others to forgive ourselves from the hurt and pain. We have to let go and leave it to the Lord. He is a just God and justice will be served in His time and His way. He will judge the living and the dead. He loves us so He is telling us to forgive. Leave justice to Him. He took our pain and our shame on the Cross in Calvary. He paid for it all. Let Him have our hurt and pain now. What a wonderful weekend of blessings and being fed by His words?
He is kind and gentle and always wise in His ways. Listen to Him and follow in His steps, one step at a time. When we give, we will receive. When we comfort someone, we are comforted. When we give time to help others, we will soon realised how much more time we have. Give time to the Lord; give time to your spouse and children; give time to the church community; give time to others; give time to yourself; spend time with the Lord. Be generous and take pleasure in doing that. When we do as He does, He will do as we did and in greater abundance; in multiplication. You cannot match Him for that. His love is living and everlasting. He gave his life for us. He is bigger than our life. We owe Him but He let us choose because He knows ‘force’ will just bring the opposite. Praise and thank the Lord in good times, as well as in bad times. Every moment of our lives is a gift from the Lord. Live it up for the Lord. The Lord knows our needs, He will provide. Can we let go and let Him do that. Don’t wait until our situation is better to help someone. Our situation may be better after we helped. Our Lord does not do that to us when we cried to Him for help. Encouraged someone with gentle words from our mouth, we will be encouraged ourselves. Give wholeheartedly. Become strong through a soft and gentle heart.
The Lord wants me to share His words.
Praise the Lord.
– Richard Goh
