1891 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



437 



God able to speed the forces of increase. '"Give, 

 and it shall be given unto you; good measure, 

 pres.sed down, and shaken together, and run- 

 ning over, shall men give into your bosom. For 

 with the same m<>asui'e that ye mete withal it 

 shall be measured to you again." I)on"t you 

 b(!lieve that? Cau"t you trust God"s word for 

 that? Giving to the Lord is but ?c/if7u(ry. The 

 security is good and the interest is compounded 

 monthly. I>ut although the returns are sosiu'e 

 and great, this would not make a very good 

 business to set up in, if you had no other. You 

 expect returns in business. But in giving, "Do 

 good, and lend, hoping for nothing again, and 

 your reward shall be great," says Christ. Giv- 

 ing to the Lord l>crause it pays does not pay. 

 An old Scotch fai'tner attended a missionary 

 meeting, and. although little accustomed to 

 giving, after c(insidiral)le struggle, and espe- 

 cially with an eye to the promised returns, he 

 ventured to casta shilling into the box. On his 

 journey home that beautiful moonlight night 

 he saw lying in the road a shining shilling, 

 which lie \\as not slow to pick' uiJ. On reach- 

 ing home lie told of the meeting, related how 

 the speaker had said that, if a man gave to 

 the Lord, the Lord would give it back, and 

 added: "Now I know that these men tell the 

 truth, for I gave a shilling to the collection, 

 and coming home I found one in the road."' 

 One of the servant-men. having listened to the 

 old farmer's account, at length said: "Now, 

 master, do you think that ye understand it 

 light? I'll tell you how I think it is. You see, 

 you gave the shilling because you expected to 

 have it given you back: and ye see. master, the 

 Lord loveth a < heerful giver, and so he did not 

 like your giving that way. and I dare say he 

 just thought he would not liave your money on 

 that principle, and so he threw it at you on the 

 road." We can not invest money in this way, 

 looking t'oi' the returns. It is not so much in 

 fdith nor Inhoiie as in love that we must give 

 to the Lord. Give in the spiiit of Ilim who, 

 "though he was rich, yet for our sakes he be- 

 came poor, that we thiough his poverty might 

 be rich" — "wherefore,"' we read, "God hath 

 highly exalted him." If we give as Christ gave, 

 "hoping for nothing again." in the spirit of 

 loving self-sacritice, our reward will be great. 

 '"The love of Chi'ist constraineth us.'" 



Here is a man who says: ''I believe all that, 

 and by and by. when I get a start in the world 

 — get out of debt and a little better tixed — I in- 

 tend to pi'actice it. For the present. I beg thee 

 have me excused." Very well I your case is 

 reported. The Lord, who has kept you all these 

 days, so that you have wanted no good thing, 

 writes in his book. of remembrance, opposite 

 your name, these words: "Forgetful. He hasn't 

 all he wants, and I'efuses to be thankful for 

 what he has. He will give nothing this year 

 for the advancement of my cause, but has de- 

 termined to forget me. This year I will forget 

 him." Impossible? Oh, no! The Lord can 

 very easily forget you for a year or two, if you 

 choose not to remember him. How much of a 

 "start" will you get in the world then? If you 

 fail to sow, how much will you reap? Christ 

 says: "He that soweth sparingly shall reap 

 also sparingly." 



Here is a man who says: "Business is dull. 

 and times are hard. I can scarcely make both 

 ends meet. I must give less to the church this 

 year. Report me for just half what I gave last 

 year, and I don't believe I can i)ay that." 

 Very well I your case is reported. The Lord, 

 who has prospered you hitherto, so that no evil 

 has befallen you and no plague has com'e nigh 

 your dwelling, writes in his book of remem- 

 brance opposite your name: "Ungrateful. He 

 complains of the good times I have given him 



as ' hard times." This year I will let him regu- 

 late his own times. I will let sickness come, 

 and expenses multiply: 1 will turn his business 

 to another's account. He gives me less: he 

 shall have less."' Impossible? Oh. nol "He 

 that soweth sparingly shall reap also sparing- 

 ly." From an cronoinir jjoint of view, the house 

 of (rod is a poor place at which to begin to 

 economize. You can not afford to feed up the 

 seed-corn. 



Here is a man who says: " I will give as much 

 to the Lord's work this year as I gave last, but 

 I can"t afford to give more."" Veiywell! The 

 Lord writes upon his page of remembrance, op- 

 posite your name: "Satisfied. Let him receive 

 as he gives. Let his blessings not multiply: let 

 his harvest not increase."' Impossible? Oh, 

 nol "Whatsoever a man soweth. that — that, 

 and no more — shall he also reap."' 



Here is a man who says: "The church is 

 growing. The expense? must necessarily in- 

 crease. The demands of the Lord's work are 

 greater to-day tlian ever before. I have more 

 love for the Lord's work than ever before. I 

 must increase my contribution this year. I 

 have received freely, freely will I give. I will 

 pay cheerfully and promptly, that the Lord's 

 good work may go on.'" The book of remem- 

 brance is taken out. and the Lord writes these 

 words: " Faithful. Well done. Thou hast 

 been faithful over a few things. Iwill make 

 thee ruler over many things. Thine increase 

 shall be great." Impossible? Oh, no! "He 

 that soweth bountifully shall reap also bounti- 

 fully." "There is that scatteretli. and yet in- 

 creaseth."" "The liberal soul shall be made 

 fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also 

 liimself." 



But I hear some one say: "The little I could 

 give — what difference can it make to the Lord? 

 If the cattle upon a thousand hills are his, and 

 the silver and the gold are his. why doesn"t he 

 use thetii as he will?"" What if he should take 

 you at your word? The "cattle upon a thou- 

 sand hills" includes )/oi(/" cattle, and "the silver 

 and the gold " includes your silver and gold. It 

 is a very easy matter for the Lord to transfer 

 these to some one who is ready to yield them 

 for his service. Would it be right? Is it not 

 lawful for him to do what he will with his 

 own? Why should he do it? Because " there 

 is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it 

 tendeth to poverty." The !ittl(> God has given 

 you is not yours to control, but youi'S to con- 

 secrate. As Dr. Dale puts it: "Christianity real- 

 ly teaches ns to say: What seems thine is not 

 thine, and what seems mine is not mine; what- 

 ever thou hast belongs to God. and whatever I 

 have belongs to Ciod; you and I must use what 

 we have, according to God's will." It may not 

 be much you can do: but 

 "Every smallest baud can lend sonic kiiid of hel|)tiil 



tt)UCll, 



Lift tlie weight a little, and the niaiij' make the 



much." 

 Y'our little is f(tt?c in your hand, but iji-e< it in 

 (toiI's hand. 



But we have not yet touched the deepest 

 meaning of the words. "It is more blessed to 

 give than to receive." We have only taken 

 into consideration the return in kind that the 

 I.,ord will make to those who giv(> to him. There 

 is a return not in kind. The best things in life 

 can not bo bought, and the b(;st rewards of life 

 can not be measured by any money standard. 

 Christ did not say, "It is more i>roflt<ihlc to give 

 than to receive: that would have been true, 

 but he uttered a greater truth than that— "It 

 is more blessed to give than to receive." Who 

 has not experienced the blessedness of giving! 

 Who has not felt the joy that comes with the 

 sense of having lightenetl the burden of human 



