Saturday Reading: 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Key Verse: 2 Corinthians 9:7
7 Each one, as he purposes in his heart, let him give; not of grief, or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Devotion:
If you were a farmer and you wanted to grow a crop of wheat, you would sow the relevant wheat seeds and then water them. You would not just throw any seeds into the field and expect them to grow into wheat. You would not throw all the seeds in the middle of the field but spread them out. You would not leave them exposed or the bird will finish them off before they grow. You would have to know how many seeds to plant and how close together or far apart they must be. You would also have to start planting at the right time... I think I may well fail before I started! The fact is that things have to be planned so that they can be done in the right amount and at the right time. We cannot hope to get the maximum benefit if we are not going to put in the time and effort that is required for the task in hand.
The Apostle uses sowing and reaping here in its metaphorical sense to remind us that so much in our lives depends on doing things in the right way to start with. If we go about our work in the wrong attitude then we are not going to put our best efforts in because we will begrudge doing the work to start with. Our hearts have to be in the work that we are doing so that we can focus on the best methods we can achieve.
The sowing is also used to remind us that we do have to prepare for things. It is no good knowing exactly what has to be done but not having the appropriate seeds to sow in the end! Just like that, we may well want to be able to achieve so much for God, but unless we prepare ourselves in the right manner, we will not have the right tools or supplies for the job when the time comes to do the work.
One final point to ponder on... Don’t expect your seeds to sprout up and grow the following day; it may well take time before any signs of life show up!
Points to Ponder:
Do you like doing things for others?
Are you prepared to do God’s work?
