ON THE VANGUARD

BLOWING THE TOP OFF
"Give , and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke 6:38

Science was never my best subject by any means, but it did always seems to hold my interest more when we did experiments. My favorite one, and one I still use to awe my own kids at times, is the mini explosion when baking soda and vinegar react. Now incase you have never tried this, allow me to explain the steps for you. Back before all cameras were digital, you could take an empty film canister and fill the bottom section with about two teaspoons of vinegar. In the lid you would pack tight a generous portion of baking soda. In a quickened fashion, you closed the lid of baking soda on top of the canister filled with vinegar and stood back. Within a few seconds the canister would shoot up in the air due to the pressure built up from the carbon dioxide gas. This simple and harmless explosion would leave you with a canister that clearly had its top blown off and the substance poured out all over.
I use this illustration as it is one that God has recently shown me concerning His blessings. In Luke 6:38, Jesus is preaching concerning the cause and effect of giving. Clearly put, Jesus tells that that when we give, it will be given back to us. The word 'give' here in the Greek means to bring forth, commit, or deliver. So when we bring it forth, we should also expect that it will be brought forth onto us.
Now if we continue in this verse we see exactly how it will be brought forth. A good measure, or portion in the Greek, will be brought. It will be pressed down, or tightly packed and squeezed into the container just like our baking soda. And then, with the mix of God acting like the vinegar, it is shaken together, stirred up, vibrated, building pressure until finally BAM! It then is running over and pouring out all over us. Running over in the Greek is defined as the exceeding overflow. This isn't just a little foam, but rather a huge explosion and blasting off like the with the canister. And how eye opening that the words 'poured into' is the same word in the Greek as 'give'. The reaction of mixing giving with God is His exceeding giving back on us.
I think it fitting that after Jesus talks about the explosion of giving, he brings it all back home with the phrase that how we give defines how we are given back to. Now I am not asking for an offering, so you do not need to fear me passing the plate, but I want to share with you what God has been impressing on me. No matter how we view this, it all comes back to obedience. There have been times when God has prompted me to give generously and I have given a smaller amount. There have been times when I have also given generously as prompted and really did not have much to spare. But regardless of my pocket book, God did not want my money. He wanted my obedience. When I obeyed God completely, God blew the top off my canister. On the flip side, when I did not obey, a little foam was produced, but not an top blasting overflowing amount.
We have to begin to see God not as Jehovah Just-Get-By, but Jehovah Jirah, the provider who knows no limits. We get used to survival when God is wanting to bless us with more than enough. Fear of our finances, time, resources, etc, has to be gotten rid of. The muscle of faith needs to be built up. So let us prepare ourselves for the blowing off of the top. Let us pray for what God wants us to do, and obey fully. In giving of our obedience we will see Him shake the canister for a top popping explosion. Obey God in your giving, and join me ON THE VANGUARD!