Beneficiary or Benefactor

Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything.  The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:24-25 NLT)

In most of the economy of our world, people increase their "wealth" by charging for whatever it is they can "sell" in the form of wares, goods, or skill. There are very few who form a company to actually "give away" things without any expected "return on their investment". Even those companies who offer "freebies" on the internet aren't really doing what they do for "free". They get a list of your contacts, allowing them to reach out to hundreds of others who will also be enticed to get the "freebies" they are giving away. 

In actuality, those companies who give away all this stuff are paid to give it away! In God's economy, it is in giving of one's self, time, talent, and even treasure, that we find an "increase" in what really can be viewed as "great wealth". In his economy, the "great wealth" is the ever-increasing measure of grace that continually transforms our character to align with the character of Christ who resides within us.

I would challenge us today to really examine how it is we are "refreshing others". Specifically, what is it you do to show another grace, or perhaps give a little encouragement where it is most needed? Do we consistently reveal the "great wealth" we have received in Christ - this great wealth of grace? Do we seek to refresh others in the same way we are continually being refreshed?

It isn't a "give to get" kind of thing. It is a give because you have been given kind of thing! 

We understand grace, not by hoarding it to ourselves, but by giving it away in the same measure as we have received it! I don't know where you stand in the matter of grace today, but I can certainly attest to the fact of God's grace being shown to me in such a huge way over all these years. It is impossible for me to measure just how much grace I have been given - even when I didn't know I needed it, it was being poured into my life!

In the same way it is given, we are challenged to give it back to those who need a measure of grace in their own lives. Our challenge today is to become less of a hoarder of his grace and more of a benefactor of his grace! Just sayin!