The Spiritual Blessing of Giving Today in the Word Read 2 Corinthians 9:6–11 Whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6 Every farmer knows that in order to grow food, you must first buy seed and then be willing to disperse that seed generously into the ground. Without the willingness to part with the seed, there can be no harvesting of life-giving crops. It is a simple principle: you reap what you sow. Paul applied this agricultural metaphor to the practice of giving: to give is to sow. As in farming, generous sowing results in generous reaping. Notice, though, that the generosity of sowing is marked by quality, not quantity. Paul did not specify an amount to be given. Instead, we are told to give as we want— cheerfully. The state of the heart matters, and cheerful giving in response to God’s grace means more than obligatory giving, no matter how large. If sowing is a metaphor for giving, then what does it mean to reap? What kind of harvest might we expect for generous sowing? Perhaps surprisingly, Paul highlighted the spiritual harvest of generous giving: “God is able to make all grace abound to you” (v. 8, ESV). This grace—in all things, at all times—flows to you so that “you will abound in every good work” (v. 8). Paul even drew on Psalm 112 to underscore his point. For those in the psalm who fear God and give generously— “their righteousness will endure forever” (v. 9; Ps. 112:9). Scripture encourages us that the all-supplying God will “enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” (v. 10). There is a spiritual blessing in giving generously. We do not give to be justified before God or to expect some material gain. But through the discipline of giving, God does supply us with grace to abound in godly living, which in turn brings thanksgiving to God.
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 11:27:43 +0000
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