In all walks of life, all regions of the country, in all cultures of the world, there is something called the universal law of reciprocity.

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1 November 18, 2012 Page 1 of 5 Introduction: Above and Beyond: The Source of Overflowing Blessing Biblical Text: Malachi 3:6-12 Dr. Michael F. Gardner, Senior Pastor Old Mission United Methodist Church, Fairway, Kansas In all walks of life, all regions of the country, in all cultures of the world, there is something called the universal law of reciprocity. In scientific terms reciprocity works like this: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. That s Isaac Newton s Third Law of Motion. But in human interactions, reciprocity works like this: You scratch my back, and (you can finish the sentence) I ll scratch yours. One small problem. That s the moral ethics of a monkey. I do you a favor and you do me a favor. Or another way to say it is, I do this thing for you. There will be a time when I ll ask a service of you. The problem is - that s the moral ethics of the Godfather. Reciprocity can be negative. You hate me, I hate you. You hurt me, I hurt you. Don t get mad - (you can finish the phrase) - get even. The problem is - that s the moral ethics of a terrorist. That kind of reciprocity may be our human behavior but it is not Kingdom of God behavior. That s why the Old Testament imposed limits: Only an eye for an eye or a tooth for a tooth and Vengeance is mine says the Lord. 1 Unfortunately, reciprocity also creeps in to our closest and most loving relationships, If you really loved me, you would... (fill in the blank) do this, stop doing that, buy me this. But that s not real love. And that s not what God has in mind for us. That s why Jesus said, in Matthew 5:43-45: You have heard that it was said, Love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. 2 1 Exodus 21:24 and Deuteronomy 32:35, paraphrased by the author. 2 Matthew 5: New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

2 November 18, 2012 Page 2 of 5 That s why Jesus reworked the principle of reciprocity into a deeper moral teaching we know as the Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. (Luke 6:31) 3 Notice, not Do unto others as they have done to you. That s just reciprocity. God asks for more. That s why Jesus said, If you love only those who love you, what good thing have you done? Even sinners do that. (Matthew 5:46) 4 Application Over and over again, Jesus tips the principle of reciprocity in a different direction. Not to hatred but to love. Not to resentment but forgiveness. Not to retribution but to mercy. Not to condemnation but to grace. Not based on what we will receive, but based on what we give. It is all based on what God has given to us. That s the spiritual background for Thanksgiving Day, which we will celebrate this week. And it is illustrated for Christians, powerfully, in what God has given to us in Christ. So, what does God give us in abundant measure? To paraphrase Elizabeth Barrett Browning, How does God love us? Let me count the ways Love... Mercy... Compassion... Forgiveness Provision Blessing. These are godly manifestations of grace. We experience them from God on a daily basis. Indeed, we would all be lost without them. I wonder how many of us realize, however, that we are also expected to manifest these same divine qualities in how we live. Well, we are! It is called The Spiritual Law of Reciprocity. (Say that with me.) It applies to all of life. If we want less harsh judgment from others, we need to become less judgmental. If we want more love in our lives, we need to become more loving. If we want more forgiveness, we need to become more forgiving. If we want to receive, we must learn to give. It is a powerful spiritual dynamic. 3 Op. Cit. Luke 6:31. Paraphrased by the author. 4 Ibid. Matthew 5:46. Paraphrased by the author.

3 November 18, 2012 Page 3 of 5 If we sow the seeds of generosity, love, acceptance and joy, those very things become more abundant in our lives. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 5 When we love more like God loves, when we live more like Jesus lived, when we forgive like he forgave, and when we give like he gave, we receive exceedingly abundantly more than we can imagine. We reap what we sow. I learned that lesson when I was growing up in Hyde Park. My father always planted a garden in the back corner of our yard. Every year we carefully prepared the ground and arranged the garden. Green beans near the fenceline where they could climb. Melon seeds in little hills with plenty of room to grow. Sweet corn in neat rows so there was room between to pick the corn. There were also tiny lettuce, carrot and radish seeds, planted last. We carefully tore off the tops of each of the envelopes and lined them up in a small box in order. One year, my mother called from the porch that my father had a phone call. I said I would finish up the planting. And I was doing fine, I really was until I kicked over and spilled the box of tiny seeds. I made a childlike choice, not the first or last of my life. I scooped those little mixed seeds into the rows as best I could and quickly covered them with dirt as if nothing had happened. When my dad returned, I told him that all was well. But when the seeds came up, they told another story entirely. Just so, the Bible sets forth an irrevocable law that we cannot ignore. We reap according to how we sow. It doesn't matter if you're nine or ninetynine. There is always a harvest. So be careful what and how you plant! Galatians 6:7-8 says: Do not be deceived: God is not mocked. Whatever you sow, that also is what you will harvest. Whoever sows to please their selfish desires will harvest destruction; whoever sows to please God, will harvest life and life eternal. 6 5 Ibid. II Corinthians 9:6. Paraphrased by the author. 6 Galatians 6:7-8, paraphrased by the author, based on the Revised Standard Version.

4 November 18, 2012 Page 4 of 5 We are designed by our Creator to live by faith, to do what is right, not just what is easy, to leave room for God to work, to place our confidence in Him. II Corinthians 5:7 reminds us: We walk by faith and not by sight. 7 God can be trusted for the harvest, if we have faith. But it is not easy. Scripture Text Our text from Malachi 3 begins with powerful words of promise. I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. 8 In many ways our text from Malachi today is a case study in faith. The prophet Malachi depicts a people who know better, but still refuse to honor God with obedient, authentic worship. They question God; they are bored with God; they take shortcuts with their temple sacrifices; they are withholding their tithes and offerings. But in spite of this pathetic picture, we see that God s grace never fails: I the Lord do not change. As we look at this passage, we find an incredible promise from God: Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this... and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 9 (Malachi 3:10). What a promise! Blessing upon blessing! Unfortunately, most of our children are not taught this spiritual principle in our homes. I wasn t. I had to learn to give as an adult. Why is that? You know the answer. Of course you do. We can t talk or teach or preach about what we do not practice. Painful to say but it is true. The real issue is do we trust in God? Are we willing to be obedient to him? Here s my invitation. Put God to the test. Learn to practice generosity. Give of yourself. Give your time. Give your acts of service. Give your money. Teach your children about spiritual reciprocity. 7 Op. Cit. II Corinthians 5:7. Paraphrased by the author. 8 Op. Cit. Malachi 3:6. New International Version. 9 Ibid. Malachi 3:10.

5 November 18, 2012 Page 5 of 5 I guarantee that this principle will prove to be true. As we prepare for Christmas, you ll hear me put it this way, as I said in my blog this week, Buy less. Give more. Imagine what Thanksgiving and Christmas might come to mean if we really did that. And let me just offer just a small word today about tithing, since this is a Sunday in which we have gathered our pledges for the year to come. Giving a tithe to God is one illustration of what it means to trust in God. It is by no means the only one. But, it is one clear illustration of trusting in God. And In thirty-four years of ministry, I have never known anyone who gives ten percent to God s Church who ever regretted it. Never. Not one among thousands of Christians. That s pretty amazing. Really, it is about what you want from life. I want my children and grandchildren to know that I reached beyond what was easy to do on my own to what I could only do with the help of God! What do you want? Don t settle for less than what God promises! Dave Ramsey has an amazing equation about how God works, when we really trust in God and are obedient in our faith. It looks like this: He calls it the Momentum Theorem - Focused Intensity, Over Time, Multiplied by God, Equals Unstoppable Spiritual Momentum in our lives. That s God s promise for those who trust in Him, and are obedient to Him! And ultimately, it s not a preacher thing. It s not a Church thing. It s not a pledge thing. It s not a budget thing. It s a God thing. His overflowing blessings come for those who choose to trust in Him.