Generous, Day 17 - The Law of the Harvest

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. 2 Cor. 9:6-8

At harvest time, a farmer goes out to look at his fields.  The previous spring he was very concerned because he had limited amounts of grain in storage due to a drought.  With no promise of good weather, the farmer had found himself wrestling with a question – what if there is a drought this year too?   With the limited amount of seed, he was risking his future on the right amount of rain and sunshine.  What should he do?

Regardless of the impact of outside forces such as rain or drought, the laws of the harvest stays intact.  Those laws go as follows:

1. You reap what you sow,
2. You reap later than you sow and, in good seasons,
3. You reap more than you sow.

However, the most important laws of the harvest are as follows:

1. You cannot reap if you do not sow.
2. You will reap in proportion to what you sow.

How the farmer sows is really an issue of faith.  If the farmer does not sow, he will not reap – there are no lottery winners in the harvest (Pr. 20:4).  Also, if the farmer sows sparingly, he will reap sparingly and if he sows generously, he will reap generously.  

In this process, there are certain things that are out of the farmer’s control.  He cannot cause the rain or the sunshine, not can he cause the seed to germinate and grow.  In a sense, all these things are in God’s hands.  There are certain things that only God can do.  On the other side, there are certain things that God expects from the farmer.  He must till the land and plant the seed.  A farmer who does not do his part should not expect God to do his part.  The farmer cannot do what only God can do and he should not expect God to do what he wants the farmer to do.  The farmer does what he does in faith.

The same principle applies in giving.  Some of us are like the farmer who sees how little he has and wonders whether he should sow at all.  After all, if he does sow his seed, he might be left with nothing.  But the wise observer recognizes another fact – if he does not sow, eventually, he will definitely be left with nothing.

The Bible calls us to live as people of faith.  Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Without faith in any areas of life we are subject to instability in all areas of life (James 1:6-8).  When we live in fear rather than in faith, we short circuit the power of God to do what He wants to do in our lives.  We must not give up in doing what is right (Gal. 6:9).  Our giving decisions are not impacted by God’s ability, but by our faith in God’s ability.  They are not impacted by God’s character, but by our trust in God’s character.  We will give cheerfully when we remember that God is the Lord of the Harvest.  God is who He says He is and He can do what He says He can do. 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.

Generosity Challenge (Day 17) - Check out three of our partnerships.  Go to Timber Bay www.timberbay.org, Youth Leadership www.youthleadership.org and Urban Homeworks www.urbanhomeworks.com. Also, go to Converge Worldwide, www.convergeworldwide.org.  Take time to pray for each.