True Giving

by David Gu, who went on a missions trip with 4 others from MSC, to Sri Lanka, 5-10 February 2011.

Luke 6:38 says ‘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.’



Somehow, when we give with the thought of this verse, the phrase ‘it will be given to you’ strikes us more than the word ‘give’. Without a doubt, giving is one of the most challenging things to do with the emphasis of living in a materialistic world today. However, on 5th Feb 2011, I went on a journey to Sri Lanka; where I unexpectedly learnt about true giving.




This journey started with a man; Pastor Yoganathan of the hill country in Sri Lanka. All I knew was that this man gave his life to the Lord Jesus, neither expecting nor having an idea of a returning reward. Despite the situation in the upcountry of Sri Lanka which I saw was difficult, Pastor Yoga sees the Hands of God blessing the land and subsequently the passion to tag along God’s plans for his nation. This man gave his life to raise others to give their lives to the Lord and planting churches, following his own example in the hill country.



What amazes me even more is the group of Timothians that Pastor Yoga raised for full time ministry. The Timothians consist of youth aged between 17 to 20 who undergo a pre-Bible school training period of 12 months. After the 12 months, they then enter two years of formal Bible School training. The thought of the Timothians giving their lives at this young age blew my mind and my understanding of the word ‘give’.



I always tell people that God’s mathematics is 0+0=infinity because when we were still sinners, God gave us His infinite love which results in life in Christ Jesus. In Sri Lanka, I saw that people there gave that life back to God, for His and only His Glory. I saw that we can give even in our times of lacking. Times when we feel we are inadequate, we can still give our lives to the Lord.



Let’s not let ‘receiving’ diminish the power of ‘giving’. Let’s then turn our perspective of giving our lives to the Giver of life.