What God has done

“But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6, 7 KJV)

What connection has the giver with the fruit? We are told about generous giving bearing much fruit. We are told that there is a degree of faith in the act of giving. There seems to be a great deal of enriching of the character of the giver because it changes his pattern from receive only like a salt water lake to receive through like a freshwater river. Yet, what if the harvest of the end result, i.e. the fruit, is far enough down the road that the one who plants it does so in a completely blind faith? Notice, there is something key missing in the above passage. Somewhere between sowing (sparingly or boutifully) and reaping (sparingly or boutifully) there is a missing connection between which field was sown and which field was harvested. Is it possible to sow in field A and then reap in field B? That goes against our nature; and for good reason. It takes our ability to manage the field away from our hands. So, why setup a system where one plants and another reaps? Aside from knowing that the harvest is not as much ours as we might think, could it bring the joy of both parties together with an equal amazement of what God has done?

“ And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.” (John 4:36-38 KJV)