“Give and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full- pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. “Luke 6:38 NLT
Today, I don’t want to focus on what we are to give and receive. I don’t even want to focus on the running over portion of this verse and abundance that comes when we abide by this principle.
What I want us to focus on, is the portion of the verse that says “to make room for more”.
Often times we quote this verse and our automatic association is the surplus to come following our obedience. Yet, how often do we take into account what precedes running over? Do we ever consider what may be attached to “making room for more”?
If you look into the process of pressing down grain and shaking it together, you’ll quickly realized that the byproduct isn’t reflective of the process it must go through to get there. Grain doesn’t just run over into your lap naturally. It must first be “pressed” with the intent to make room for more, and then “shaken” to maximize the capacity.
Now, I know what you may be thinking. I’m stating the obvious, because the scripture clearly states that it’s pressed down and shaken together before it runs over. However, how many of us truly know what that means? If we did, when God takes us through seasons of hardship before entering us into abundance, would we label it differently?
Did you know that pressing down the grain eliminates empty air pockets so more grain can fit inside? So, before more is added there has to first be a decrease or removal.
Is that not reflective of what God will do often times in our lives before He takes us to what’s next? How often does He eliminate something or empty us so He can fill us back up?
If we look further into the process, we will also notice that the grain is shaken. Shaking the grain allows for it to settle and release any air pockets that are trapped inside. This ensures the grain can reach its maximum capacity, opposed to a harvest that looks full but is actually mostly air.
Again, is that not reflective of what our Father does with us? Will He not move us, shift our environments, change our circumstances, and shake things up to release what’s within us?
I hope we aren’t missing this. I know this isn’t usually the focal point of this verse. Though, the measure in which we give is important, I don’t want us to miss the fact that God is showing us what will happen before it’s returned back to us in full.
There is a harvest for those who faithfully steward what they been given. However, there is a process leading up to that harvest.
The good news is that everything about the process is for the betterment of the harvest.
God isn’t simply emptying you or moving things around… He’s making room for more.