When partnering with your family to know, love, and follow Jesus, we strive to create and share content filtered by the Head-Heart-Hands model.
Head: the knowledge of God and His Word | Heart: the personal connection from scripture | Hands: a missional mindset
In 2 Corinthians 9:6, Paul compares giving to working in a garden. He says, “The one who plants only a little will gather only a little. And the one who plants a lot will gather a lot.”
Every summer, someone gives us a few plants. We plant them, forget about them, and harvest a total of two tomatoes and one good squash for a good year. My friends, however, plant LOTS of veggies that they weed and water daily. They have more than their family can eat, so they give us tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, zucchini - you name it, we have it in abundance. They worked hard and were able to give generously. We worked very little and had very little even for ourselves. Just like working in a garden, Paul tells us that if we work hard in giving our time, talents, and money, then we will see LOTS of good things happen. We are allowing God to use us to change the lives of others for the better.
It’s not always easy doing what God has called us to do. Sometimes we just want to sleep late on Sunday morning instead of getting up to go to church, or we want to play with our friends and ignore the child sitting by himself. Paul tells us that if we keep making ourselves available, we will see the good things that come from our work and experience joy from watching someone learn to love Jesus. 2 Corinthians 9:13-14 says, “So other people will praise God because you obey him... They will also praise God because you share freely with them and with everyone else.” What if someone gets to spend eternity with Jesus because of YOU - because you allowed God to work through you? It doesn’t get much better than that, friends!
Think of some ways you can work hard to share your gifts with others. This could be working in a garden and sharing your vegetables, earning money to give to someone in need, or inviting a friend to join in your neighborhood baseball game.
I challenge you to share something with someone today. Toys, extra snacks, etc. You decide.
Prayer: Lord, help me work hard to share Your Word by giving to others. You have given me so much. Help me share it in a way that leads other people to You. Amen.