Giving, God, and Allegory.

^"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 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 6:37-38

One of my all-time favorites, and maybe one of the most quoted, passages in the Bible. There isn't a lot of allegory in this passage, because it's one of the few universal truths when looking a God's love for us. Sadly, this is seldom applicable in reality - if you don't judge a person, they may very well judge you anyway. What this passage talks about, what little allegory is in it, is in relation to God's judgment, condemnation, forgiveness, and generosity.

Yes, you may indeed be condemned by one you choose not to condemn, but He is watching, and He knows you have done a good thing in keeping His faith. You may give and receive nothing back for yourself materially, but if you give wisely to where it's deserved and needed, you will reap both God's reward and the earthly reward of knowing that you did something good just for the sake of doing it. Giving is perhaps the most important part of this passage, because it is both allegorical in it's description of reward, and literal. Knowing that you have done the work of God, helped fulfill His plan for you and have walked His path rightly and justly, that is reward enough for anyone. But in His plan, he often puts surprising twists and turns.

The reward of not judging, not condemning, and giving is clearly its own reward - but sometimes those twists and turns in God's plan bring can benefit in the material world... I know a man who got a new job because he met somebody while volunteering at a soup kitchen. He and another fellow were both serving dinner to the local homeless and struck up a conversation. Next thing you know, my unemployed friend is working again. I've heard lots of stories about coincidental meetings blossoming into lifelong friendships or marriages from two people both being at the same charitable event, like working on a Habitat for Humanity site. Then there are people who give money to charity, and find that instead of owing the IRS money, they just barely squeak over the line of breaking even with the taxman. In all these, look at the allegorical truth - God has given these folks just reward for their efforts.

Now it's true that this doesn't happen every time. God's plan doesn't have a signpost, just a suggestion board - and you're free to follow it or not, to live in Grace or not. So, please understand that I'm not suggesting you do good for the sake of benefiting here on earth; I'm saying to look at God's infinite wisdom, and ask yourself - "has He shown me the rewards of following His plan for me, and I just never noticed them?" He gives us all the clues, it's up to us to put them together and take action to better live our lives as He intends.

So, go out and give... find a soup kitchen, give to a charity, volunteer at an animal shelter... do something good, because that's what God wants. Even if you don't get anything out of it, remember that you ARE getting something - you're living God's way. When you live in the way God intends for you, His gifts are sure to follow.