History notes that Emperor Shah Jahan so loved his wife that he undertook to build a monument in her memory. He began the project in 1631. It took 22 years to construct the breathtaking structure with 22,000 smart people working behind the scenes. Precious building materials were brought from all over India and Central Asia. It took a fleet of 1000 elephants to transport these materials to the construction site! And that’s the story behind the famous Taj Mahal!
Taj Mahal is considered as one of the seven wonders in today’s world including a 2007 opinion poll with 100 million votes! And it’s all about a love gift given by a loving husband to his lovely wife! Today Shah Jahan is famous in history books and in many people’s hearts because of something that he gave.
In the Scriptures, Jesus taught on various kinds of giving such as loving your enemies, blessing your accusers, praying for the abusers, showing mercy to the offenders and helping the poor – all with a non-judgmental, non-condemning and forgiving attitude (Luke 6:20-37). This is sacrificial giving. This brings in marvelous rewards to the giver.
That’s why Jesus tied up these ‘giving’ teachings with this famous statement, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you†(Luke 6:38).
Your giving can be in the form of money, time, property or resources. It can also be in the form of love, mercy, service or forgiveness. It can be demonstrated through words, behavior, looks or deeds.
You may not fully understand what your gift means to the receiver. It may have come as a much needed help at the 11th hour. It may have saved an about-to-be-broken marriage. It may have rescued someone from committing suicide. It may have lifted someone up from failure to success.
Only God knows the huge results of your giving. So He rewards you accordingly. Therefore Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive†(Acts 20:35).
The Scripture says, “let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up†(Galatians 6:9). As you make ‘giving’ a daily habit, at the appropriate time, God will begin giving you back its fabulous rewards!
– – – By Joe Abraham & Ancy Joe