Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– D.A. Carson
They are Blessed
Jesus meant everything He said, since He is God, and God cannot lie (Num 23:19; Heb 6:18), and He said, “give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). Undoubtedly, God’s Word teaches, “Whoever has a bountiful eye will be blessed, for he shares his bread with the poor” (Prov 22:9).
They feel Joy
I have been on both the receiving end and giving end of blessings. A person who I didn’t know and who I’ve never seen again gave me a bottle of cold water on a very hot day. I didn’t know him and I haven’t seen him since, but I wished I could thank him again. When I was in a similar situation, I saw the sanitation workers sweating it out in the 100 degree summer heat in Kansas, so I went to my frig and brought them some bottles of cold water. I was reminded that Jesus said, “whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward” (Matt 10:42).
They feel God’s Pleasure
People who are givers have told me that they feel like the runner in the movie “Chariots of Fire.” They can feel God’s pleasure when they give. It’s contagious too, because some of the people that they have helped have later helped others. It’s like the ripples in a pound. They keep extending outward, until these same ripples return to where they came from. They tell me it’s a very special feeling that they can hardly put into words. To them, it’s priceless.
They look toward the Kingdom
The Apostle Paul reminds us that whatever it is we’re going through today, it can’t compare with what’s coming when the kingdom comes down from heaven and the glory we get to see (Rom 8:18). Even while we’re living on earth, “our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil 3:20), and that’s where and when we will receive our rewards from the Master. We cannot take our money with us, but we can forward it ahead, and you can be sure of this; “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:21).
Conclusion
Can you see why D.A. Carson wrote, “Those who know where the treasure lies joyfully abandon everything else to secure it?” What is given today will not be lost in eternity. Whatever we keep on this earth will perish on the earth. Here’s why we keep persevering and doing good to others; “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matt 25:34).
