Generous living that leads to growing

Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 Your Christian maturity is affected by how much you put into growing. The apostle Paul from the text was expressing God’s way of growing. Growth in spiritual life takes place when you sow seeds of spiritual disciplines that will lead you to grow deeper in your relationship with God. You have to be intentional and determined to experience the richness of God’s character in every area of your life that will produce Christlikeness within you. You cannot be halfhearted in your commitment to the Almighty God. Once you dedicate yourself to His working of producing His character in you, you will reap the harvest. God is the One causing the harvest but you do your part in allowing Him to take hold of your life. In another instance, the apostle Paul rebuked the lack of desire for those Christians who will not sow generously seeds that will help them in their spiritual growth. “I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in Christ. I had to feed you with milk, not with solid food, because you weren’t ready for anything stronger. And you still aren’t ready” (1 Corinthians 3:1-2). If you are longing to know God more intimately, you will find the time to spend with Him in His word and in prayer. Even when it is difficult to do such spiritual disciplines, once you get the drive God will reward you with a powerful Christian life. When you start to address sources of weaknesses in your life and ask God to help you overcome, God will meet you in your needs and He will change you. If you sow sparingly in your spiritual growth, change that leads to maturity will be difficult to come by. So choose to sow generously acts that will facilitate manifesting Christian virtues that are already in you when you commit your life to Christ. “By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence” (2 Peter 1:3).

Blessings.