Freely Give

Today I read this verse and it brought back something that God was showing me early last year. Jesus is sending out the twelve disciples, and told them, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.” [Matthew 10:8]

Last year God was showing me how, like the story of the man whose king forgave his debts, but he went out and demanded that his debtors pay, we are obligated to pass things on….. in that case it was mercy, but to me God was telling me to pass on love. But the same goes not only for the power to heal, cleanse, raise the dead, cast out demons that He has given us, but also the knowledge and wisdom that he’s shown us. Another verse that I read today says, “Whatever I tell you in dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops.” [Matthew 10:27] I guess I’ve never thought of it that way, but we have an obligation to pass on the things given to us. It’s like we are allowed to use it, but we must pass it on at the same time.

One thing, though, I’d like to clarify is that we still need to be lead by God. I’m not saying that we need to go out and tell everyone we meet everything that God has shown us or spoken to us. [ouch! that sounds like it could be painful at times!] I think in some instances that would be like “casting our pearls before swine.” There are times that it’s appropriate to keep things to ourselves. When Jesus healed the leper in Luke 5 He charged Him to tell no one. [verse 14] Sometime people might not be ready to see or hear certain things, because after all it takes a certain degree of faith to handle things, like Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.”

So remember to pass on the gifts that the Lord has blessed you with, but also be lead by Him. Remember that some things aren’t yours to keep :)