rosemary lavender

Luke 6 v 38. “Give and it will be given to you.”

The generosity of God should be seen in all the disciples of Jesus. The opponents of Jesus were judgemental and censorious. They were quick to point out faults and condemn others. Furthermore there was a hard-heartedness about them which is reflected in Jesus’ words about ‘forgiving’ others and freely giving to others. Lack of forgiveness , bitterness of spirit and personal stinginess, are characteristics the disciples should not emulate.

I hope we all take this to heart. Be careful before you make judgements about others. No matter how harsh they are to us, we must not be like them. In the hurley-burley of everyday living we tend to forget this and sometimes harbour unjust judgements about people. But we should first find out what makes them tick and also take to heart the unseen burdens they carry. If they have no faith in Christ, they carry their burdens alone. Rather our generosity of spirit should be seen as we forgive people. And the largeness of our hearts should also be seen in the way we spontaneously help people according to our means.

This kind of attitude has its own reward. Apart from any blessing from God, people find it hard to keep criticising those who are constantly overlooking their faults and who keep on seeking their welfare. We do this not for reward, but simply to glorify Christ. How wonderful though, to remember the Saviour’s words: “For the measure you use, it will be measured to you”. There is magnanimity in God. We cannot ‘out-give’ Him. The more we display His character the more blessing becomes ours. And to the measure we show to others, the same measure is used for us.

Christians should be large-hearted like their Father in Heaven. Indeed as the Saviour Himself showed us when he prayed: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”