Give

Give
Anne Frank wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!”  
                                                                                                          Anne Frank.
Anne Frank knew what hate could do. She was young Jewish girl in hiding from the Nazi’s in Holland during world war two. She would later die in a death camp.
Yet the words she wrote are profound. Read them again,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!”
Jesus said,
“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.”       
    Luke 6:38.
I know many in the name it claim it crowd use this to indicate give to God and he will make you financial rich. That is not true.
God is not a banker who gives interest on money you give to a ministry or church.
If you are giving to a church or ministry you should be giving willingly what you can afford not expecting to get anything back.
Philippians states,
“And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus”
                                                                                                        Philippians 4:19
God gives us what we can handle Paul telling those in the church at Philippians that he will meet their needs.
If those giving to the church were rewarded by what they give I think the church in the third world would be the richest in the world because not only do they give out of their lack but they give their lives also.
Christian giving is not just giving dollars and cents to the church. It’s giving of one’s self to minister the gospel.
It’s giving love and understanding. It’s reaching out to those in need.
The people that hid Anne Frank and her family certainly gave they risked their lives not expecting anything in return.
They gave of themselves.
Too many in the church here in North America are giving to get. There are quite a number of ministries in the media that are talking about ‘seed faith’ plant a seed by giving money to a church or ministry and God will give it back with interest.
Like I said God is not a banker.
The value of our faith should not be about how much money we give or we get.
Albert Einstein said,
“The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.
                                                                                                                                        Albert Einstein
We as Christians are called to give but money is just a very small part. We are called to give our lives if necessary.
Jesus set the example. All but one of the disciples gave their lives for the faith. Many around the world are doing the same today.
The call I believe to the Christians here in North America who are blessed with freedoms that are the envy of the world is to not only support missions overseas with cash but to reach out to our world.
North Americans are as spiritually lost as the rest of the world. They need to be given a gift that can never be taken away from them.
That is what we Christians should be doing.
We have the single most important thing to give away freely to those who would listen to us, Eternal live.
Think about it.