BE A RECEIVER AND A GIVER
'Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.'
(Matthew 7:7)
'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)
In life, we have to be both 'receivers and givers'.
Unfortunately, many only remain 'receivers'.
There is nothing wrong in being a good 'asker' and or an excellent 'receiver'.
'Receiving' forms part of the healthy life cycle. Those who never ask or never receive, will have a very difficult life. A newborn needs to receive love to increase his/her chances of longevity, the poor has to receive something to maintain their lives, human beings need to receive love. There are countless examples displaying the importance of 'receiving'.
Therefore I say to you: 'ask, seek and knock'.
However, Jesus also calls us to be givers. Giving also forms part of the healthy life cycle. For a person to receive, there has to be a giver.
Jesus said: 'give and it will be given to you'.
The book of Proverbs states: 'One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.' (Proverbs 11:24)
Dear friends, let us be clear on one thing: ' when we receive, we obtain something. BUT the increase goes the giver.'
Giving is so important that on the last Day, it will be one of the criteria that Jesus will use to separate the 'sheep' from the 'goats'. (ref. Matthew 25:31-46). The sheep will be the people who not only received but also practiced their giving towards others.
In Proverbs 18:16, the Bible states: 'A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.'
Many people are stuck under limitations and can't move forward because of their stinginess. A gift makes room for the giver.
A giving lifestyle can help in unlocking a life of purpose for the giver.
With so much of pain, troubles, joblessness, hunger and other social ills around us and in this world, a Christian cannot settle to only live as a receiver.
You have to be both: 'a receiver and a giver'.