What is the difference between you receiving seed and bread from God?
In 2 Corinthians 9, Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth on a collection for the believers in Jerusalem who were starving.
I want to start with vers 10
2Co 9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,
He was quoting
Isa 55:10 “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater,
God gives us seed and bread – seed to sow and bread to eat
Down to the practical – when we receive money – our salary as a normal worker or payment for our harvest from what we had planted as a farmer or pension as a pensioner or a social grant from the government – that amount is divided in two parts – seed and bread.
What is important – there is seed to sow, can be call the tithe, and we must sow it.
Then there is the bread what we can eat.
As in everything in life and the way God created it –is there a balance.
Don’t eat your bread and seed – don’t sow your seed and bread.
The seed has a purpose – to been sown and multiply – making provision for more food.
The bread has a purpose – to been eaten by us for feeding us – if you sow bread it won’t grow.
2Co 9:6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
When we only sow halve off what God gave us to sow, we shall reap less than we would have if we had sow what God wants us to sow, also meaning that we shall have less bread to eat at the end.
If we sow what God wants us to sow – He will let us reap bountiful – more than what our need is and it will give us the opportunity to share more – sow more.
Example: Sow halve amount of seed for corn – reap not enough for own consumption – sow whole amount of seed and there will be more than enough for us and a good quantity to give to our neighbours.
2Co 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
Just as important on how much we sow, is with what attitude we sow –
If we sow with a attitude of it is a law and if we don’t sow God will be angry with us or if we sow a lot then God will give us many because we need big time to keep up with our current life style, then we are definitely going to suffer.
How do we determine how much we must sow, ask God and He will tell us.
Amen