‘I believe in sowing and harvesting, so I sow in order to be able to harvest later’. Most of us don’t believe when we ‘sow’ 10 Euro we get 30, 60 or 100 fold back in Euro’s, but there are people that give according to the quid-pro-quo principle. They put money in the offering basket and expect something back like a better job, the healing of a friend or something else they want to receive. They tithe and expect something more from the heavens than rain, when the floodgates of heaven are thrown open for them.
Is it realistic to expect God to do something in return when you give (up on) something?
Sowing and harvesting is a natural principle God has put in creation. When you invest in something, you will get a return on investment. That’s why we exercise, study, practice, etc. Does this apply to giving to/in the church?
God is sovereign, He is not a vending machine where you throw something in in order to get something out. God is not bound to your actions – fortunately. He can give (or not give) you something separate of what you have done.
But God doesn’t want your money, your offerings, or your works. He wants You. He wants to spent time with you, get attention from you, so He can share with you everything He has. Let us not behave like the eldest son….
The pressed down, shaken together and running over measure Jesus talks about is filled with the result of our attitude towards others. Have we been generous and merciful, did we love, or did we live for ourselves, condemning others? “For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
Be careful what you sow for!
“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
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