Sowing...Reaping

Good Morning,

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NIV)
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:
"He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever."
Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

There are some of us who believe wholeheartedly in the idea of the "tithe." There are others of us who believe that "tithe" is an Old Testament law and idea and no longer applies. No matter which camp any of us believes in our hearts, these verses that we read today should guide us, and even impel us, in the way we do our giving. That would be our giving to a local congregation, to missions throughout the world, or to any charities that we feel led to support.

The words, "For God loves a cheerful giver," are words that should be in our hearts and minds as we make our decisions to give and to help those who may not be as secure as some of us are.

I don't think that these verses need more words of explanation or expounding on how we ought to go about our giving. Although, many hundreds...even thousands I would think...of sermons, articles, and even whole books have been written on these particular verses. I believe that what God has had written here by Paul to the Corinthians is pretty darn clear. I also believe that what Paul wrote those thousands of years ago has applied throughout all generations since, apply to this present day, and will apply for all time to come.

I guess the reason these verses have been sent along to us this morning is that we, well many of us anyway...perhaps even most of us, need to be reminded on how we ought to view our giving. There are a lot of ideas included in these verses and all of them are important. I would ask that we all read them carefully, think about them deeply, and then apply what we learn from them to our lives.

"Whoever sows generously will also reap generously."

Love, peace, and blessings,

David