“He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 NAS
“A fruitful and productive life begins with what you give, not what you keep.”
My thoughts today are about “a productive life.”
Farming is not about owning land or living in a rural setting. Farming is about sowing, growing, and harvesting. And that is what everyone does in one way or another. Farming has to be purposeful; it requires patience, often perseverance, and always involves trust; it demonstrates expectation; it produces only what was sown, nothing more, nothing different – much like life!
Life is best with purpose. Life is about asking the question, “What am I doing, and what do I expect to come of that?” Life requires patience. Few, if any, good things come quickly or with ease. You plant, work, and then wait. Life needs perseverance. You do the right things just because they are the right things, not because you see some immediate reward but because you believe right ultimately prevails.
Life includes trust. Life is not only about what you do. Life involves trust in others’ good will and generosity toward you, and in God’s goodness and blessing. Life expresses expectation. A farmer keeps doing what needs to be done, because he believes and expects that what he does will bring a good harvest. Life involves hard work. Life is too much hard work if you do not expect something good and worthwhile to come out of the effort and energy you invest. Stop expecting and you soon stop working, and then you stop receiving.
And in contrast to what surrounding culture suggests and human nature would hope, a fruitful and productive life begins with what you give, not what you keep. See Luke 6:38 NLT. Giving is sowing. The principle is this: you reap what you sow and you reap more than you sow. This principle of God’s Word is built into all of creation and remains eternally and practically true, if you “sow bountifully, you reap bountifully; sow sparingly and you reap sparingly.” 2 Corinthians 9:6 NAS. What you choose to do determines much of what God can do for you.
My prayer for you today is that you will find the trust and joy of generosity.