“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (1) What are we sowing exactly? Is it something physical like money, food, labor? Or is it something intangible like love, support, time? The answer? It doesn’t matter. Because the point is this: you get back what you put into something. Give a little; get a little. Give a lot; get a lot. So, I guess the point is if we feel that we are not getting enough out of life (or a church or a Bible study or a class or a relationship, or . . . whatever 🙄), then perhaps it is because we are not fully investing ourselves in it; we are holding back. We are sowing sparingly.
So, the point is this: don’t blame your frustration or your unfulfilled heart on anything but yourself until you have given all you have to it—until you have sown bountifully.
But here’s another point: “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2) So, if we are giving bountifully but are doing so with resistance or because it is required of us, don’t expect to get much back. Our attitude is as important as our effort!
It’s a decision we subconsciously make every day—give a little of ourselves or give a lot. I think we hold back because we believe we only have so much we can give. Afterall, we might run out of energy or resources! So, we keep a tight fist . . . on our time, our money, our talent. It’s like we are saving ourselves for future opportunities while the opportune time is staring us in the face! The time is now! All we really have is today.
And the point is this: “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” (3) The “good work”? God wants us to abound in it, to burst, to overflow, to flourish in the harvest! And guess what? He has already planned out the good work for us. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (4)
And the point is this: We will not run out of energy or time or resources because God will supply us with our every need, giving us “all sufficiency in all things at all times.” (3) There is no excuse for holding back. As a matter of fact, when we give generously, “we will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way.” (5) The more we give, the more we will be able to give! 😀
So, what are we waiting for? For what reason are we holding back? Why not decide right now to sow bountifully in the opportunities of this day? Because if we don’t do that, then what’s the point? 😉
1) 2 Corinthians 9:6 2) 2 Corinthians 9:7 3) 2 Corinthians 9:8 4) Ephesians 2:10 5) 2 Corinthians 9:11
