Sowing Generously (2 Cor 9:6-11)

The apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians in defense of His apostleship. Apparently false teachers had challenged his authority and right to be an apostle. They accused him of vacillating in his promise to come and as such his words could not be trusted (1:15-24). However, Paul was legitimately delayed until he knew of their repentance since he wished to come in order to carry the collection to Jerusalem and exercise apostolic authority in disciplining the unrepentant (2:1-11). There were most likely two other letters which Paul wrote to the Corinthians which were lost (1 Cor 5:9; 2 Cor 7:8).

Coming back to our text at hand, "Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously." (v 6). Whatever holds true in the agricultural sense, is also true in real life. A farmer who sows plenty of seeds would naturally expect a bountiful harvest compared to one who sows very little, baring any unforeseen circumstances. Paul was encouraging the people to give generously to help the poor in Jerusalem. And when they do so, God would cause all grace to abound to them (v 8). Notice that this grace enables one to keep doing good work at all times and with all our needs being met.

There are certainly many opportunities to give apart from the church tithes and offerings. I remembered in my school/uni days, I used to support a child under World Vision for several years; contributed to para-church organisations for Bibles/Christian materials to be printed and exported to countries where there were great needs. I also supported a fellow church brother who did missions work with Operation Mobilisation in U.K. In non-monetary terms, we can give through providing services or goods. I remembered giving free tuition to some church friends during vacation period.

When we give, we don't expect anything in return because God's grace will continue to abound in us. We cannot outgive a God who is generous towards those who exercise faith (Jas 1:5). God provides seeds for us to sow or bread for us to eat (v 10). For all of us who are able to work to earn a living, we should be thankful that Jehovah has given us the ability to make wealth (Dt 8:18). We are to be wise stewards of the manifold blessings (be it money, goods or services) God has bestowed on us. Certainly we can put bread on the table for our family to eat and at the same time give of our additional resources to help others. That's should be a good working model for a believer (Eph 4:28).

Ask God to show you whom you can bless today. For some, it may be a financial need and yet for others, it may be an encouraging word or help that could be rendered. As we give, God will enlarge the harvest of our righteousness. Hopefully the people whom we touched would be drawn closer to the Lord.