Giving Until It Hurts

Life is but a boomerang. Everything comes back to us. What we throw out will simply bounce back. If we give more, we receive more; if we give less, we receive less. I was told that the real essence of giving is doing it until it hurts. I thought about it a lot of times and I've asked myself a couple of questions: "Will I be able to give until it hurts??" "What about MY needs?" When you are down to your last centavo, and you see someone who needs it far more than you do and give it up for that person, is that giving until it hurts?? Then I remembered the old widow in the Bible who gave her very last coins to the offering plate knowing that she won't have anything else to live on. She gave more than any of the other rich guys who offered big sums of money. So I thought to myself, when you give, it doesn't matter how much is given up. What matters is how much is left in your wallet after giving. Now where does "Life is but a boomerang" fit in to all this?? Simple. God sees all things. We reap what we sow. If we sow sparingly, we shall reap sparingly. Giving to others is not a disadvantage for us, it is an opportunity to receive MORE. I take this as a challenge for myself. Faith, as Pastor Ryan said, is giving when you don't have it.I don't lose anything when I give, I simply release God's power to bless me and provide me with more- far more than I could ask for or imagine.