Sowing Generously

My dad grew up on a farm in Hawaii. So when we were young, our family would go back to Hawaii almost every summer to visit relatives and pick macadamia nuts and coffee. It was hard work but it taught me and my brother a lot. My dad eventually acquired a piece of land and farmed coffee early in his retirement years. So I guess you might consider him a farmer at heart. Although many of us probably haven't farmed for a living, in some ways, I think we are all farmers in that we all sow and reap for a living.

The principle of sowing and reaping is common to many areas in life such as how hard we work, how generous we are, and how much time and effort we put into our relationships. We know instinctively that what we get out of these things usually corresponds to how much we put into them. This is a vital principle for us as believers as well. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” That means if we put time and effort into our relationship with God, we will experience Him in deeper, more significant ways. If we invest time in studying His Word and prayer, we will grow in wisdom and faith. If we practice generosity and reconciliation with those around us, we will foster more grace-filled relationships.  Of course, there are many other areas in which this principle applies.

Why is it that some believers seem to experience greater transformation than others in their faith? I think we may need to ask the question what are they sowing into and what are we sowing into? What we sow into and how much determines the harvest we can expect to reap. Let us sow generously into the things of God and our relationship with Him, and reap the fruit of Christlike change in our lives.        

God bless,

Pastor Darren