Audio:
In chapter 9 of 2 Corinthians, Paul turns to a metaphor of seed. There are three things you can do with seed: consume it, store it, or sow it. When we think of our money as ‘seed’, we can spend it on ourselves and enjoy its benefits right now or we can save our money so that it isn’t lost and can be used when we have need. When we ‘sow’ our money, we put it to its most proper use, investing it in productive work for the sake of others. Prosperity gospel proponents would wrongly claim this as God’s promise that in sowing this seed, we will reap rewards. In fact, the text here says that we will gain more seed to sow, not bread to consume. We will be “enriched in every way to be generous in every way.”
This leads to the “inexpressible gift” of God’s grace to us in Christ. As John writes, it is His love that generates all of our love and it is for His kingdom and for His glory that we labor. We do not give to the church for the sake of a building or the sake of a program. Nor do we give toward missions or community to fill needs. We give because we have confessed the lordship of Jesus and fully submitted to his call on our lives in all things. The joy of Jesus fills our hearts to overflowing, empowering us further to be cheerful givers. Grace upon grace.