“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give unto your bosom.  For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again” – Luke 6:38

    I’ll never forget the morning when God used a carton of chocolate milk to teach me about being a good steward.

    Yes, a carton of chocolate milk.

    It was a bright summer morning and my friend Phillip and I were set to play tennis as we had gotten into the habit of doing on most days.

    Phillip dropped by my house that morning to pick me up for the quick drive to the courts in our hometown.

    On this particular day, Phillip had purchased a carton of chocolate milk for his breakfast. 
    (Yeah, I know, it’s not the healthiest of breakfasts, but we figured we’d work it off playing tennis.

    Now, if you’ve ever drunk chocolate milk, you know the syrup usually settles to the bottom of the carton, and it is necessary to shake the contents up before you drink it in order to get the best flavor.

    (If you’ve never drunk chocolate milk before … then what’s wrong with you?

     Phil had obviously downed his fair share of the chocolate stuff before because he began to shake that carton as vigorously as I had ever seen him hit a backhand.

    Only there was one slight problem.

    He had already opened the top of the carton before he started shaking it.

    Which was fine for him. 

    He wasn’t seated in the passenger seat.   In the direct line of fire for the spray of chocolate milk.  I was.

    As Phillip shook that carton up, the chocolate milk came running over the sides and all over me.

    In a matter of about five seconds, I was covered in chocolate milk. 

    (I still can’t figure out why he kept shaking well after the first, second and third blasts of chocolate milk had run all over me, but he’ll get his.

    We laughed about it for a while, I got cleaned up and then we played our tennis match.

    As I thought about it later, God reminded me of a verse of Scripture.  Luke 6:38 reads, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”

    You see, when I am faithful to give, God is faithful to bless.

    And instead of my friend shaking a carton and chocolate milk running over the sides and onto my lap, God shakes things up and His blessings run over the sides and onto my life.

    Christian, if there is one thing that I’ve learned over the years, it is this:  you absolutely cannot out-give God.

    Trust him with your finances.  Cheerfully and generously give as He leads.  And when you do…

    …you’ll be seated in the direct line of fire for the blessings of God.