Gifting & GrowthSample

THE GIFT-SEED A man was browsing in a store where he made the shocking discovery that God was behind a sales counter. So the man walked over and asked, “What are you selling?” God replied, “What does your heart desire?” The man said, “I want happiness, peace of mind and freedom from fear – for me and the whole world.” God smiled and said, “I don’t sell fruit here. Only seeds.” Seeds are a source of life which keeps multiplying. I’m quite certain that they were lying around, eavesdropping too, when God told Adam and Eve to be fruitful and multiply! Seeds which had been lying dormant for thousands of years in the pyramids of Egypt sprang to life and yielded grain when planted. If we have to sow a pumpkin to reap a pumpkin, the earth would soon run out of space, don’t you think? God is not going to hand you a huge, prize-winning pumpkin tipping the scales at over 2,000 pounds and expect you to use it effectively for His purposes. Firstly, you are going to be crushed under its colossal weight. Secondly, you can never hope to lift it, shift it or gift it. Thirdly, its sheer size and weight is going to deter you from ever using it. So God in His infinite wisdom hands you a flat, asymmetrically oval, unpromising-looking seed with the assurance that He will keep adding while you keep sowing your gift-seed. In a time of famine, Isaac stepped out in faith, sowed in the land and reaped a hundredfold, not immediately but in due time. All healthy growth takes a little time, but patience and perseverance will bring it to fruition. Isaac prospered to such an extent that he soon became the envy of his neighbors. In Romans, Chapter 12, we come across a host of instructions, each with the potential to be exercised as a gift – social service, hospitality, empathizing with people in their joys and sorrows, associating with the humble, patience, diligence, kindness – look on these as gift-seeds within you and develop them to reflect God’s grace in your life. Baby steps today will result in giant strides in the future. Step out in faith and say with confidence, “Yes! I am gifted!”