Sow Generously!
“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Corinthians 9:6)
Last March, on our annual GLCC ministry trip, several members of our team were in a small Jamaican hardware store to pick up some project supplies for the next day. While they were shopping, I wandered into the little garden section and saw a packet of callaloo seeds. Now, callaloo is kind of like a Caribbean tropical spinach…a broad deep green leafy vegetable that is great for stir frying, as a side dish, and is even good in salads. I did a little research, and it’s an honest-to-goodness superfood with the nutritional value of kale, but mild…without the bitter taste or coarse texture. Invariably, when you ask a Jamaican school student what their favorite vegetable is, they say “Callaloo!”
Well, I’ve enjoyed callaloo in Jamaica for years. It’s delicious! In fact, even my kids ate it when they were in Jamaica. So, it hit me…“I wonder if I can grow this stuff at home?” I bought a packet of seeds, brought it home, and decided to plant a patch of it.
I measured out a 4’ square section of my garden, prepared the soil, and then opened the packet. Boy, was I disappointed. Inside was just a tiny little black spot of almost microscopic seeds. That’s it? The seeds all together were no bigger than the top of a pencil eraser. I flipped the package over, “Sow seeds directly on top of prepared soil and then water” is what it said. Sounds simple enough. I scattered the seeds the best I could and then watered them. I wasn’t very hopeful.
It took a few weeks and at first, I couldn’t tell the weeds from the callaloo, but by about week 5, the callaloo plants exploded in growth. We couldn’t keep up with it! By the end of the growing season, the plants were 8 feet tall, and I was hacking them down with a machete. We ate callaloo all summer, and I froze a dozen packages of it to enjoy this winter. Wow, what a harvest!
The Bible says, that in life, when you sow, sow generously. Don’t be stingy or sparing. Sowing is an act of faith. It is effort with the hope of a future return and a generous harvest. Yet, so many times we hold back and that limits what God wants to accomplish in and through our lives.
Beginning next Sunday, October 29 at GLCC, we are going to start a new teaching series which considers what the Bible says about generosity and the laws of harvest. It’s called, “Living Generously.” This series involves an innovative video component, so you won’t want to miss a single week. Check out the trailer by clicking here
All of us are planting seeds, that is, we are investing our lives in something; hoping for a good return. Let’s invest our lives for what counts and sow our seed generously.