Posted 276 days ago
Abundance For Sharing
by Christine Sine, MSA team
During the last couple of weeks, we harvested over 80 pounds of tomatoes and 200 pounds of apples from our garden. We have enjoyed the fresh sweet taste of fruit straight off the trees. We have given fruit away, canned, dried and baked up a storm trying to deal with the overwhelming mountain of produce.
Coping with God’s generous provision in this time of financial crisis has taught me a lot of lessons. Interestingly, early in the season the crop seemed small and scant compared to last year. As a result, I was initially reluctant to share, selfishly wanting to hold onto the fruit in case there was not enough. The tomatoes accumulated on the kitchen counter attracting fruit flies as they ripened beyond their use-by date. A few went bad before we could do anything with them.
Then I remembered one of my favourite Bible passages about God’s provision: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others” (2 Cor 9:8, New Living Translation). God provides for us not so that we can accumulate for ourselves, but so that we can share. Otherwise what we already have is likely to go bad before we are able to use it.
When we face financial insecurity, as many of us do at present, it is easy to focus on the seemingly scant resources we hold in our hands; trusting in God’s promise of abundance and generosity is almost impossible. Very often, however, God’s miraculous provision only comes when we share the seemingly paltry provisions we hold in our hands. God provided for the widow and her son who shared what they thought was their last meal with Elijah. The young boy shared his small helping of fish and loaves must have watched with awe and wonder as Jesus used it to feed thousands. I am convinced that God has a different way of doing multiplication tables. When I share generously of the provisions God has placed in my hand it often seems to multiply in awe inspiring ways that confound my understanding.
As we look ahead to what will probably continue to be financially insecure times, I think that all of us need to ask ourselves: What are we holding onto that God intends for us to share? How can we reorient our thinking to not trust the diminishing resources we feel we have to hold in our hands, but instead trust in God “who provides seed for the farmer and then bread to eat. In the same way, he will provide and increase your resources and then produce a great harvest of generosity in you” (2 Cor 9:10).
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