Written by Pastor Jack Wellman-Mother Teresa
Open Hands Can Receive
Hands that are always clinched tight can never receive more from God. The ways of God are the opposite of the ways of the world. The world holds tight and never shares but many who share let go and God pours back into their hands. Jesus said as much in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” The world would say, “Wait Jesus, this is backwards…we keep in order to have it running over” but the reality is that when we give, it will be given to us…and in the same measure we us, it will be measured back to us and in good measure too; pressed down…shaken so more can be poured in…and then running over so much that it spills over into your lap but only those who have open hands have hands open to receive more.
Treasure in Heaven
You can’t take it with you…but you can send it ahead…to heaven that is. If you are storing up treasure in heaven, then stock market crashes can’t touch it, Ponzi schemes can’t pilfer it, and thieves can’t rob it. This is what Jesus meant when He said “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal” (Matt 6:19) instead “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matt 6:20-21).
What the Fire Can’t Touch
Have you ever heard about those things that will pass through the fire as being the only things that we’ll be rewarded for in heaven? This idea comes from the Apostle Paul who wrote “Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work” (1 Cor 3:21-13) because only those things that “cannot be shaken may remain” (Heb 12:27). What will pass through the fire? Those things that can’t be shaken…or anything created. What will pass through the fire? Jesus said even a cup of cold water given to one of the least of these will be rewarded (Matt 10:42). That person you gave a winter coat too…that sick person you visited in the hospital…that person in prison you wrote letters too…that man or woman you shared the gospel with. These are not wood, hay, and straw that can be destroyed by fire, but they are gold, silver, and precious stones, indicating that some are more valuable than others.
Conclusion
Mother Teresa knew all about giving as she gave her whole life in dedication to helping the poor. Even though she didn’t have much she gave what little she had. She sought others to give for those who had nothing. There are more than 3 ways that we can give to gain and to share what God never intended for us to hold. What ones could you think of?
