Give It Away

Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” Matthew 19:21 (New International Version, NIV)

Perfect in the Greek is the word teleios, which means complete, moral character, brought to its end, finished, wanting nothing necessary for completeness, reached its end. Jesus was telling this man how to be mature, complete, and made right in God’s sight. Giving reveals our level of maturity. After all, God so loved us He gave Jesus. The more we give, the more we grow in Christlike maturity. The more we give on earth, the more we lay up treasure in eternity.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9 (New International Version, NIV)

We should use wealth to win people for Christ. In this way, the more we give, the more we gain. The more we give away now for the Gospel’s sake, the more we’ll have in heaven Of course, God always blesses givers in this life as well (Luke 6:38). When we die, we will have souls that we reached for Jesus greet us in heaven. After all, the most valuable riches are people.

Money won’t buy heaven- Jesus bought it for us by His sacrifice on the cross. However, we are to use money to help others in need, making an eternal investment in God’s kingdom and in souls.

Let’s give as much as we can. Let’s give as often as we can. Of course, we do need to meet our needs for living on earth. However, the more we give for the kingdom’s sake, the more people can gain heaven- plus we’ll have eternal treasures awaiting us. If we give it away now, others can gain heaven- and when they see us there, they will thank us. What an amazing experience to be standing face-to-face with the people we helped to enter the glorious kingdom of our God!