Moment of Meditation: Give Freely (Matthew 5:42)

"Give to the one who begs from you,
and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you."
(Matthew 5:42)

Give Freely

Everything you have isn't yours. Everything you have was given to you. Given to use. To manage. To steward. "What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?" (1 Corinthians 4:7). Why should you be stingy with the abundant blessings that God has given to you? He who gave to you so freely from His gracious bounty. Why hoard it all for yourself? Jesus gave everything--including His life--for you. Why do you want to keep things to yourself?

Give it away freely. "When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3). Give your blessings to those who need them, but don't keep track of who was given what. Jesus is not going to ask you to give an account of who you gave what. Jesus is going to ask you to give an account of what you've given that you've received.

The Parable of the Sheep and Goats (Matthew 25:31-46) illustrates this wonderfully. They were judged based upon their action or their inaction. They didn't even know what they had done or not done. But Jesus tells everyone, "As you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me. ... As you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me" (Matthew 25:40, 45).

Consider your giving in light of what you've been given. Amen.