Showers of Blessings

 

(Jesus said:) Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”


“Give and it will be give to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” This is a verse that you normally hear just before the collection basket is passed around, encouraging you to give. And give you should, but we should note the context of this verse is mercy. However, it holds true for everything in the spiritual realm. Even what we learn. Give and you will get back more than you give. 


I remember a few months after my conversion I went to my spiritual director for permission to teach. And he laughed. Loudly. And for a long time. Finally, he managed to say: “Even the apostles spent three years with Jesus. You have not even been with him a year; what are you going to teach?” A little miffed, I said, “I’ll teach the little I know.” He stopped laughing, looked at me for a long moment, closed his eyes, either to pray or to think or both, before he said, “Ok.”


I am convinced that because I did that, teaching the little that I knew, God started teaching me more. And teaching me new things, fresh things. And he wants to do this with everybody, but because we don’t share, we just remained locked in our paradigms, spouting the same stuff we have been spouting for years. Let me explain how and why.


Imagine a water tank - you know the huge tanks that store water for a town. They usually have one outlet, but imagine this tank has four outlets, one of each side. The top is open, and God is pouring down rain into the tank, but the water just skims off the surface, and the water in the tank gets rancid. Now imagine you open one of the taps. As quickly as the water goes out, there is new water—fresh water—coming in. Imagine you open another. Twice as fast as the water is going out, water is coming in. Imagine if all four are opened.


Think about these reflections. I’d like to think most of you are blessed by them. But do you share these with others? I don’t mean forward them, or send somebody a link. I mean TALK to someone about what you have learned. Try this and see how much more God will give you, in this case, insights. This principle applies to every blessing we receive, including money. Don’t hoard. Give. And you will get more. Much more. Wanna know why? Because when God sees you sharing what you get, he just pours it out. 


Try it and see.


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