The principle of giving and receiving is a simple one and it comes from Jesus: “Give and it will be given to you” – Luke 6:38. He made it plain that in what ever measure we give, that same measure it will be returned to us, or come back. If we are generous we will receive generosity in return.
How do we measure our generosity? The verse goes on to describe that a good measure is “pressed down, shaken together or running over.”
When I bake something using brown sugar, I have to press it down firmly into the cup because there are air bubbles between the granules by the nature of its composition. White sugar doesn’t have the resistance that brown sugar does. Brown sugar must be pressed firmly into the cup as the correct measure of sweetness for the recipe.
To me that describes a kind of generosity that doesn’t skimp on flavor or sweetness. I know that if I’ve measured the brown sugar correctly, the recipe will have robust flavor as expected. If I’m stingy with the brown sugar, I’ll be disappointed with the result.
Giving generously has practicality. I will get back what I give so why not give freely and with anticipation? My immediate return is a heart filled with joy at the giving. It’s fun to purchase just the perfect gift for someone you love, wrap it up in a special way and present it with the hope that they will really love what you’ve given them. It’s exciting to watch their face as the gift is revealed.
That’s how God gives to us, with joy and excitement at anticipating how we will receive it.
Here’s a new print to express the joy of giving, available from my store on this site, or as various other products from my stores on Society6 and Fine Art America.