Day 18: Generosity - How to Be A Generous Person, Part 5 “Those who cry as they plant crops will sing at harvest time. Those who cry as they carry out the seeds will return singing and carrying bundles of grain.” Psalms 126:5-6 (NCV) Generous people sometimes cry. The Psalmist tells us “those who sow in tears will reap with joy.” A missionary tells about understanding the significance of this verse for the first time. During a time of drought, the tribe with which he was working saw their supplies of corn stretched to the limit. He recalled seeing a father take one of the last bags of dried corn out of his family’s store room. This corn could have been pounded into meal to make the cakes that were the staple of the family’s diet. But, instead, he took the corn to the field where he sowed the seed into the ground. The missionary saw tears flowing down the man’s cheeks, and he understood. It hurt to put into the ground what might be his family’s last meal. Yet he knew that without sowing that seed his family would certainly starve the next year. So he sowed with tears knowing that he would one day reap with joy. What’s the lesson? That we should give away our last meal? Of course not! The lesson is…. it’s not always easy to “generate generosity!” When we talk about “giving cheerfully” it can sound as if giving is always an easy thing to do. That simply is not true. For those who give, there is often the strange mixture of sacrifice and joy. You know that you’re doing what is right and yet it is often hard to let go. That’s true when we give our time, our money, our talents or ourselves. But the truth is, there is an inevitable law of sowing and reaping at work. It’s a natural law. It’s a spiritual law. Those who sow in tears WILL reap with joy. Family discussion question: Can you remember a time when it was difficult for you to give something? (Even preschoolers can think of an answer to this question!) Prayer: God, Austin, I Love You is going to require BIG trust of YOU. It’s going to be difficult. Today, as I think about what YOU have given me (home, cars, investments, business, etc) begin preparing my heart to hear from YOU in order to know what to invest.
Posted on: Thu, 01 May 2014 19:30:15 +0000