This most generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes bread for your meals is more than extravagant with you. He gives you something you can then give away, which grows into full-formed lives, robust in God, wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God. (II Corinthians 9:10,11 ESV)
Give Away
Our most generous God gives us seed, harvest and food for our own benefit. But also, He intends for us to pass it on. To share. To give away. And in that way, the gift He gives, grows!
That is an unusual concept these days. We want to keep our food, money, and possessions. We want to prepare for three months from now, just in case. We want to store up, to protect, to hoard. And our world encourages us to think that way.
But think about a simple smile. A smile is also a gift. When something happens that causes me to grin, I do not keep that to myself. I cannot, unless I make great (silly) effort to mask my face, hide in the dark, or avoid humankind.
When God grants me something grin-worthy… I share it. I can not help it. It auto-shares.
The gospel works the same way. We receive it so that we can share it.
All the good things, in fact, work that way. The grace of salvation, forgiveness, peace, joy, happiness, smiles, bigger smiles, shelter, dollars and cents, ice cream, strawberries, popcorn, chocolate cake, mints, and maybe… just maybe… even bacon!