Luke 6:37-38

Luke 6:37-38 – “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured out into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Over the years I have heard the second part of this passage used in regards to the giving of tithes and offerings. People love to say, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” They want to get us excited about giving, which is good, but we don’t want to forget the importance of the rest of this passage.

“Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” This goes with the end just as much as the “give” part. It all goes together and we need to understand what it means for us. First, “Do not judge and you will not be judged.” So if you do judge someone else you will be judged yourself, to the same extent that you used in judging that person. The same thing goes with condemnation. If you condemn another because of their actions, you too will be condemned based on what you do.

Now if we take a step back to verses 27-31 of this chapter we have a better understanding why it is so important to Love our enemies and do good to those who hurt us. We must walk in Love toward all people because the moment we judge or condemn someone, the same happens to us. And it will be done in the same measure we used.

Next we come to forgiveness. Unforgiveness hurts you way more than it hurts the one who hurt you. If you hold a grudge against someone, even if they “deserve” it, you need to let it go. If you don’t you cannot be forgiven. Again, in the same way you forgive, you will be forgiven. In the Lord ’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” Take notice which comes first.

In all these things we must understand that in whatever measure we use, it will be measured back to us. When we understand this we can use it to our advantage and control much of what happens to us in our lives. We need to let go of the hurt and walk in Love toward others and give to those who are in need, otherwise it will be to our detriment.