Pie Night

Pie Night

“For by the standard you judge you will be judged, and
 the measure you use will be the measure you receive.”
                                                          Matthew 7:2

Of all the family traditions, making pies on the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving just might be our favorite. It’s a night when everyone has their role, from making crusts to peeling apples to mixing the myriad of ingredients needed for the apple, pumpkin and chocolate pies that will be consumed the next day. My contribution is usually doing the dishes that pile up from the night and I can tell you from experience that every measuring device in the kitchen, from the yellow one-eighth of a teaspoon plastic spoon to the 4 cup glass jar, along with every conceivable size and shape in between, is used on pie making night. From spices to pumpkin filling, those measuring devices help insure that just the right amount of each ingredient is used in preparing the pies without which Thanksgiving Day just wouldn’t be complete.

But did you know that God does some measuring of His own? Jesus told His disciples that “the measure you use will be the measure you receive”. So for example, if you show a quarter cup of mercy to others, you can expect to receive a quarter cup of mercy from the Lord. And that will work well unless you find yourself needing a full cup of mercy; then you might have a problem. The same principle is true of forgiving others, of being compassionate and of finding fault with others. In fact, I’d like to make a recommendation: when forgiving others, use the largest measuring cup you can possibly find. You’ll be thankful you did when you find yourself needing forgiveness, as we all do from time to time.  And as far as finding fault with others, I’d get the smallest cup around, the one-eighth teaspoon variety and use it as sparingly as possible. Just remember, God’s going to use the same size when dealing with the shortcomings in your life.

And as God stretches us through difficulties of every kind, let’s realize that like the different measuring cups, He is so often painfully stretching us to meet the needs of others, increasing our capacity to show compassion to those who are struggling, deepening the level of comfort we are able to give to those who are really hurting, and expanding our ability to minister life to each person around us. The truth that God measures to us as we measure to others has one more point; in measuring to us the Lord so often includes those closest to us so that not only are our actions going to come back to us but they will affect our sons, daughters, and spouses as well. So let’s be liberal in pouring out where God would be so pleased, and, at other times, frugal in our measure. You can be sure that you’ll never regret it!

God Bless
Pastor Joe
Gateway Church