Deuteronomy 16:17
The bigger the harvest the Lord gives you, the bigger your gift should be.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
As a child, I thought my paternal grandparents were rich. What I did not realize until adulthood was that they were anything BUT rich in terms of money… they simply managed well. My grandparents lived from paycheck to paycheck, grew their own food and lived very frugally, in comparison to others. Mam-ma Polly made virtually everything she wore… and much of what my sister and I wore, as well. She worked at least two jobs on top of her household duties. In my lifetime, my Pap-pa worked long hours as part of the county road crew…and shouldered that job with time spent each morning and evening tending to black angus cattle and row crops that helped put food on our tables – both literally and via the cash he earned from selling his cows and yields from the earth.
I never realized how hard my grandparents were working to provide things for us – in part because they were so generous to my family and everyone else. For decades, I heard my grandmother recant stories of this person or that who helped her family when she was a child. One man gave her and my Aunt Babe a job picking up potatoes and limbs/twigs for firewood… and allowed them to take home the excess. An older aunt and her husband took in my grandmother, aunt and great-grandmother when they needed a place to live. As Greg and I drove Mam-ma to a nearby town for medical appointments in later years, she would point to one field or homestead after another and comment about who had lived there… how that person helped her family with one thing and the next…and how “good” life was because of these blessings.
When we moved Mam-ma to the Assisted Living Facility, I found a journal she had kept, in which she chronicled how hard life was for her, my grandfather and my dad - especially in the early years of their marriage. She documented all of this with joy rather than malice or self-pity. Her entries were peppered with “Oh, but we had fun!” Even gathering with other ladies in the area to create feather mattresses or to can the excess bounty of their gardens for off-season consumption was a cause for celebration. And always, my grandmother was generous… with her possessions, her time and her talents. When I think of my Mam-ma Polly, one of the first words that come to mind is “time”… she always had room for others in her day.
As we look at this verse from Deuteronomy, a lot of people let their thoughts go straight to money. This passage has been used to illustrate that those who have been blessed with “plenty” should give more. But if we stop there, we miss the bigger message. Regardless of our income level… our “station” in life… the circumstances of our daily existence… we have all been blessed in some way. And God is calling us to reach out to others above and beyond what has been given to us. In other words, if someone has given you an hour of their time to listen to your problems… give two hours to someone else.
If a person shares a meal with you, offers you a coat or sweater that no longer fits them, or spends their last dollar to buy you a cup of coffee, pay it forward. Look for ways to bless that person… but also seek ways to bless others because of what was given to you. If someone sends you a birthday greeting or a get-well card, find a way to send good wishes or encouragement to at least two other people! Be grateful…say “Thank you”… and more importantly, express your gratitude in the form of blessings that you extend to others. Your “gifts” do not have to be lavish or expensive. All you have to do is recognize opportunities to show kindness, grace, mercy and compassion… and then do this to the fullest of your ability.
I am just now beginning to fully realize how much my grandparents sacrificed for others…how they honed making room for one more at their table (literally and figuratively) to a fine art. And I am hoping that I can be half as successful at this as they were. God has blessed me in tremendous ways…and my “gifts” to Him for the harvest must be grand as a result. I know that He has blessed you, also. I encourage you to give some thought and consideration to how and where you have received a “harvest” in your life. Ask God to reveal His desires for you to give to others out of your “abundance”… and make sure these “gifts” are the biggest and best you can assemble.
“The bigger the harvest the Lord gives you, the bigger your gift should be.” What are you giving to God – and to others – these days?
©2014 Debbie Robus
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