Live and Let Liveਨਮੂਨਾ

5. Treasure Trunks (Part 1)

You Get How You Give

We reap what we sow. But we also reap how we sow.

With Jesus, it always remains a question of the heart. And that is also the heart of the Father. If the motive of giving, asking, or doing whatever we endeavor is not pure, then our return on investment might not endure.

When we give to be seen, we are showing, not sowing.
When we forgive only to be justified, our hearts might still not be purified.
When we do Godly things for admiration, we are not really connecting with our Heavenly Father, but only appearing to be a good brother.

Our treasure trunks are hidden in secret heavenly places. They are not on public display.

God entrusted each man with a certain amount of time, talent and treasure in this life.

None of us knows how much time we have or who has more or less of it. We can only manage it, use it wisely and invest it as guided by the Holy Spirit. And everyone has different talents - we ought to use them to glorify God and help others.

But our earthly treasures are tangible resources that, depending on our expenditure, can also be transferred to heavenly trunks that are still unseen. Out of this storage, our Heavenly Father rewards us both in this life and the next. But it remains a matter of the heart behind giving, more than a matter of the praise we are receiving.

Likewise, forgiveness and bitterness are both things that pour from the heart. Openly, I might fake kindness. But behind the veil of our hearts lie our true motives. This keeps us captive or sets us free! If you truly forgive from the secret places in your heart, then your Father in heaven truly sets you free.

When we truly give out of generosity, we seed both the present and the future.
When we truly receive God’s mercy, we also find grace for how to deal with others.
When we truly hunger and thirst for more of God, our satisfaction pours from the inside-out, not the outside-in.

How we give will determine how we receive.
How we forgive determines how we receive mercy and find grace for another.
How we conduct ourselves determines whether we are merely showing an image or sowing into our character.

So, let’s give of our time, talent and treasure for God’s public glory, and our secret reward. Let’s forgive generously as we ourselves also receive mercy and still find more grace every day. And let’s live and let live, the way God intended us to.

Let’s Live and Let Live:

• What similarity do you find between giving generously and forgiving generously?
• Where can you use your time, talent and treasure for God’s glory?
• How can you invest your abilities as a greater deposit for a heavenly reward?