Payback August 17, 2016

³⁸ "give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38 ESV 

Often this verse is used during capital campaigns.  It may also be a featured verse in the annual (or bi-annual or monthly) steward service.  "You can't out give God." But when the looked at in context, there is no mention of money in the verse itself or those proceeding or following.

I recently found out that it is indeed not just a reference to monetary giving.  

This past weekend I had several projects to complete at school in anticipation of the new school year.  It was tempted to skip church on Sunday morning.  But with some slight reservation, I went ahead and drove out to Republic Road and attended small group Bible study before heading to school to get started on my to-do list.

When I arrived at school and got started, I  was amazed at how smooth both of the major projects went.  There was steps that weren't necessary, supplies that went further than I had planned, and time-shaving shortcuts became readily apparent once I got started.  One of the most amazing examples of how God gave back the time I had given him was when a teacher called me from out of the blue when I was working.  

I needed some extra hooks for one part of a project.  It appeared that I was going to have to lose 30 minutes of time driving out to Lowe's.  But almost before I had loaded up and headed out, a teacher called and was at Lowe's.  Knowing I had the projects to finish that weekend, she asked me if I needed anything from Lowe's.  I send her a pic of what I needed, she and her husband picked up the necessary hooks, and dropped them off when they came up to school work on her room.  I was able to complete that project without the time-consuming trip to Lowe's on a crowded Sunday afternoon.

Coincident?  Not all.  It was one of the many examples of how God will honor and reward our gifts to him.  We truly can't out give God.  Not with our money.  Not with our talents.  Not with our time.