"Give, and it will be given to you..."

“Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, 'Son, your sins are forgiven you.'” (Mark 2:3-5)

“After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi [Matthew], sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, 'Follow Me.' So he left all, rose up, and followed Him. Then Levi gave Him a great feast in his own house. And there were a great number of tax collectors and others who sat down with them...” (Luke 5:27-29)

“Now when He concluded all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. And a certain centurion's servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die. So when he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to Him, pleading with Him to come and heal his servant. And when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.” (Luke 7:1-5)

These are ordinary people who were living ordinary lives who reached out to do good and God met them. 

In the first story, four men. We do not know anything about these men. Were they long time friends? Perhaps neighbors? But what we do know is they saw the need of the paralytic man who was suffering and wanted to do something about it. They wanted to go beyond themselves to help someone else. They had faith that Jesus could change this paralytic's life so with great joy they picked this man up and took him to Jesus.

When they couldn't get to Jesus because of the crowd, they didn't get discouraged and walk away. They became creative and climbed up on the roof, broke through it, and let the man down right in front of Jesus. I would love to see the expression on people's faces as they were listening to Jesus and suddenly a paralytic man comes dropping down from the ceiling.

The second story was about a man called Levi (also known as Matthew) who lived his whole life living for himself, doing his job. Then suddenly Jesus comes at the right moment and changes everything. This man who had been making his living by charging his own people unfair taxes, left everything to follow Jesus and give his life away for others instead of living selfishly. He quit his job and doesn't try to protect what he has left – his money. Instead he opens his life up generously and gives a great feast, inviting all his tax collector friends so they could know Jesus as well.

In the third story, here was a centurion who oversaw Roman soldiers. Rather than seeing the Jewish people like the rest of the Romans as unimportant and to be pushed down, he saw them as having value. He went as far as using his own money to build them a synagogue. By caring for the Jews and reaching out to be their friend, he had to risk a great deal with the Romans around him.

More than this, servants were considered property. Typically if one was sick and could no longer serve, they would not be kept and cared for. Instead, they would considered worthless and left to die. But this centurion did not see like the others around him, he did everything he could in his power to help his servant and save his life. When he heard about Jesus from the Jews, he trusted who they said he was and begged and pleaded with Him for the life of his servant.

Ever known people like this?.... generous hearts, kind of everyday heroes: They make sacrifices to give their lives away for others. They demonstrate courage, generosity and vulnerability as they love others sacrificially in their every day lives. As they reach out to do good, God meets them there.

There are also these everyday heroes all around us... Ordinary people having an extraordinary moment in giving away their lives to love and serve others. Not seeking to be noticed, but wanting to do good for others or caring and seeing someone that others might miss.

It is not that these everyday heroes cannot or should not be noticed by us for it, but that they are not setting out to do something to be noticed. Rather, they are putting their hand to what their heart prompts.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:1-4, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

Pastors come to my mind in this category. Generous hearts constantly giving away and sacrificing their lives for others... at least the pastors I know. And God meeting them powerfully there. So grateful for them as I may not be where I am today without their sacrifices and willingness to partner with God. I have freedom today I never would even dare dream I could have as a result of God meeting me powerfully through the hands or ministry of sacrificial pastors.

I was listening to a sermon last night where the pastor was talking about wanting to reach out to his neighbors after he moved into a new area. After he settled a minor dispute he was having with his wife and they prayed together, instead of needing to reach out, God started sending his neighbors to him. Many of them reached out because they were struggling, wanted someone to talk to about Jesus, or just wanted to pray with him as a pastor. He didn't feel burdened or put upon but reveled in the goodness of God who sent them to him. God met him in all the situations for the people who were in need.

There are also these everyday heroes all around us... Ordinary people having an extraordinary moment in giving away their lives to love and serve others. Not seeking to be noticed, but wanting to do good for others or caring and seeing someone that others might miss.

It is not that these everyday heroes cannot or should not be noticed by us for it, but that they are not setting out to do something to be noticed. Rather, they are putting their hand to what their heart prompts.

Jesus says in Matthew 6:1-4, “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.”

Both my grandmothers come to my heart as I think about generous hearts and God meeting them in it.

My grandmother on my father's side for years volunteered at the hospital to hold children who were terminal and had to stay at the hospital. Some of them were abandoned and destined to die with no one. I remember going with her once and seeing this room with babies and children who these volunteers would come in and hold. Many of them had hydrocephalus and were called “water head babies.”

I think at the time the disease was untreatable or perhaps these ones were too brain damaged to do anything about. I sat in a rocking chair among these babies and kids and held this child who was so adorable, had big eyes and long eye lashes. He eventually would die.

Every day my grandmother would show up to the hospital and go in this room to hold the two children she was assigned. She loved them and held them like they were her own until the day that they died. How painful it had to be for her at times to sit with them hours on end and allow herself to attach to them knowing they would be taken from her.

My other grandmother was also an everyday hero of sorts. She raised her seven children during the great depression as a single mother. My grandfather died when my mother was four. During the great depression, help was extremely limited (especially to support the 6 girls). My mother would talk about how they would go without food at times, eat a dandelion leaf salad when they could find some to pick, drink sugar water, and look through garbages on occasion.

Because of the limited food, my grandmother would always feed the kids first and  often go without.  Later in her life she ended up with health problems related to going without food in those years.  She also fed the stray cats as people would drop them off at her home when they were starving. Once they were nurtured to health, she would send her kids out with them to give them away to a home.

My grandmother managed to raise all the kids with sufficient food to at least get by and have them grow up healthy. All the kids knew deeply that they were loved and cared for by their sacrificial mother...

My mother is also another everyday hero in my life. She has the same sacrificial love as her mother for her children. I've seen her sacrifice for her family... until she had nothing left to give. She also demonstrated to us children faithfulness as, despite my father's deep woundings that caused her pain, she cared for him faithfully until the day he died. She is generous, loves the Lord with all her heart, and ever proclaiming His goodness in her life. Through her life she has taught me that God is faithful in and through all things.

I know what you are thinking... there should be some men heroes on this list. Besides many of my pastors that are male, my husband is another everyday hero of mine. He has such a courageous and loving heart. Some five or so years ago, he was diagnosed with a rare eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). There is no cure for this disease and it may lead to full loss of vision... As we found out later, one may also keep their direct vision and lose only their field vision with this disease which is what I have been praying, hoping and believing for my husband.

When my husband first found out he had this disease, it was around a week before Christmas. He had failed a field vision test with his eye doctor and sent to a specialist. The specialist told him that he had this disease and that there was no hope for him to have any vision within five years (this we later found was not necessarily true in all cases). He needed to start getting his life in order and be prepared to be fully blind. He was devastated.

But wanting to care for me and his family as he always does, he didn't want to ruin our Christmas. So he went through Christmas carrying this without saying a word. After Christmas he told me and then we also a little later shared this with our son. While I would have liked to have been there to support him as he found out, I understood his heart of wanting to care for me in not sharing it until after Christmas was over.

He does this kind of thing all the time... sacrificially care for me and protect me. And he is big hearted with extended family and all those around us. When the neighbor's mailbox broke, he went out and fixed it. And when he sees a neighbor who needs help, he runs over and offers to help them. In the summer he gardens and brings over some of our vegetables to the neighbor's and are extended families to enjoy.

I have several wonderful friends who are everyday heroes with generous hearts toward others. One recently sent me a note explaining why I didn't see her at our usual prayer meeting: She helped a single mom and her kids move one night, then the next day, took another single mom with her baby to the Emergency Room. All of this while taking care of her mother, and mending her friend's daughter's coat and caring for her grandchild.

Every day all around us there are these little heroic acts going on waiting to be noticed and appreciated. They are just under the radar as the people are not looking to receive recognition but just do something good for someone else.

In our everyday lives, God invites us to be these everyday heroes with generous hearts, just like the four men who saw the need of the paralytic, the tax collector who left his self serving life to serve others, and the centurion who cared for the unpopular among his people.

Mother Teresa writes, “When you believe you love, when you love, you want to give your service, to give yourself. God gave us an example: He gives us everything freely; we must also give what we have, give ourselves.” [1]

John the Baptist told the people of the time to “bear fruits worthy of repentance” (Luke 3:8). When they then asked him what they should do, he responded, “He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise” (Luke 3:11).

Jesus takes this further and tells them, “If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks you, and from him who want to borrow from you do not turn away” (Matthew 5:40-41).

Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put in your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back.”

A few times I have heard this used as an offering message.  If you give to God, you will get more money back than you gave because you cannot out give God.   However, I believe this is taken out of context as God is probably not asking us to manipulate Him by giving Him our money so we can get more money.

Give in this case is the Greek word didomi, Strongs #1325, and it means to gift, grant, or furnish or supply one's needs.  [2] "Give" and "it will be given" are this same word - didomi.     As we supply the needs of others and give them our gifts sacrificially, God will more than meet our needs.

And in Luke 12:33-34 Jesus spoke, “Sell what you have and give alms; provide yourselves money bags which do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Since some of the stories that I shared do not all end with God more than meeting the needs of the giver, this blog post is very much a work in progress. I am still struggling with it and not sure if I should just delete it all together.

What comes to my heart is the word "enable."   In some cases, I think sacrificial giving can be tied to enablement.   This was the case for myself when I was younger.  I used to enable my sister in a self-sacrificial way.   Where it led me was not to a place of having joy or having my needs met in a pressed down and overflowing way.  Where it led to was severe depression.

I wonder if in some of my stories, while the self-sacrficial giving is beautiful, it is filled with the brokenness of the world that we all carry - sin.   There was enablement tied in with the giving.  Even with pastors, I heard someone say recently that only 1 of 20 faithfully make it to the end.   So how is this God more than meeting our needs in a pressed down, overflowing way?

I think I am starting to like to offering version of that scripture better.  Maybe because  the giving was not always out of that place of abiding with God and His Spirit, it was out of a work of the flesh.  Sometimes we can have 'good intentions' not have our eyes on God and not be led by the Spirit and be led astray.

I find sometimes with the demands on my life in different directions that I get overly stressed and feel rushed frequently in my giving to others.   I think some of this has to do with wanting to say yes to please people  and not really following God.  When I don't set boundaries that are good for me, God doesn't seem to meet me in it. 

I think enablement comes from our perspective in serving.  It happens when we serve with our eyes on people (pleasing them) rather than our eyes on God (pleasing Him). I have a hard time seeing it in my life because I struggle with it. 

When our giving is filled with enablement, getting our own needs met, pleasing others, our own sense of significance, or earning or way in the kingdom, perhaps one of the ways we can know this is by the fruit that is born - we do not have joy or have our needs met in a pressed down and overflowing way.  Instead, we struggle with the consequences of our sin.    God does not enable us.

However, when we are truly following the Lord, His burden is light and yoke is easy.  We have joy and peace. And just like with each of the stories mentioned from the bible earlier, God eagerly waits to meet us as we step forward.  

Jesus told John when he asked if Jesus was the Messiah what  would help him to recognize the presence of God in his midst:  "that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them."  (Luke 7:22)  

As we step forward in courage and faith by the Spirit, God meets us with what we need for the moment.  We bring not only ourselves to the situation, but the very presence of God to meet their need.

What might God be inviting you into today?

Lord, forgive me where I am prone to enable, people please, and get my significance by what I do.  I can see where this has led me to feeling rushed and hurried to get everything done.   Help us discern when we are following Your Spirit and when we are following our own good intentions with our eyes on other people rather than You.  And help us to spot and encourage heroic acts around us. But don't just leave us on the sidelines to cheer, draw us into the fullness of what you have for us. Thank you for the wonderful and powerful ways You meet us when we step out to serve you. Give us generous hearts and eyes to see those who are in need. 



1.    Mother Teresa.  The Joy in Loving.  Compiled by Jaya Chalika and Edward Le Joly.   Viking Penguine.   New York, New York.  1996.

2.Strong, James: The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order. electronic ed. Ontario : Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996, S. G1325