Daily
Devotional

A few years ago, I had the privilege of working with a master artisan. He was a mason, and had been doing that type of work for fifty years. While he was a personal friend and a lifelong acquaintance, until I worked with him, I never realized how much of an expert he was and how keen his senses were about masonry.

One day, it was close to noon and we were getting low on mortar. It was my job to carry mortar to him, and I thought maybe I could stretch the mortar by adding a little extra sand. So I proceeded to add a small quantity of sand. Nothing was said about my act until we were eating our lunch, when he, being very much a gentleman, asked me, “Did you add a little more sand to the mortar?” My action was uncovered. Nothing ever came of the incident, but I realized that I could not fool him.

Even more than a mason knows when there is a slight deviation in the amount of sand in the mortar, God is keeping track of our every deed. As in all other aspects of our lives, God’s formula for giving and receiving is quite exact. He will reward those who give, and He will reward with “good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over.”

Our focus verse was not given so that we could turn God into a blessing machine. He is not obligated to bless us, yet He does give us promises with conditions so we can understand the value of obedience. What He really wants us to learn is that it is better to give than to receive. Those who are happiest are not those who are keeping track of how much they give of their time or material goods, but those who give not expecting anything in return.

God commanded us to love Him with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves. We can give without loving, but we cannot love without giving. May our love for God be displayed in our generosity toward Him and others.