II Corinthians 9:6-15
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” [II Corinthians 9:6]
Gardeners will tell you that. When you plant vegetables from seed, the thing to do is not to poke a hole in the ground, drop in one tiny carrot seed, measure three inches, poke another hole, drop in another seed, and on and on and on. No, you dig a shallow trench, sprinkle seeds all the way along, and cover it up. Later, when the seedlings have appeared you thin them out, leaving the strongest plants and room between them for the carrots to form underground.
It’s true in other areas, too. If you are never friendly, you will have few friends. If you don’t put hours and hours into practice, you will never be good at the piano. If you don’t get a few bruises, you will never master the science of kung-fu. More importantly, if you never share the gospel, people who might hear of and come to experience Jesus’ love for themselves may have to hear it from somebody else. It’s best not to count on that.
But you also need to try all sorts of ways to do that, because (as Jesus’ parable of the Sower talks about) there are all kinds of soil – rocky, fertile, weedy, hard-packed, and so forth – and there are all kinds of people, all of whom are beloved by God.
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” [II Corinthians 9:6]
If you spread the good news in only one way, or to only one type of person, that is sowing sparingly.
I am not saying that there aren’t some ways that are better than others, and that some are not just downright obnoxious, at least to me. I don’t think Jesus would want us to be sneaky or mean-spirited. The gospel is good news, not something to bonk someone over the head with from behind. Out in Lebanon there is a woman who regularly runs for School Board with some very definite and specific ideas about what should be taught and how the students should dress and generally behave. I disagree with her on most of it, as generally does the overwhelming majority of the electorate, but in her heart she really does care about the kids, and I cannot fault her on that in any way.
I do, however, fault her for a habit that she has of going into church rummage sales and sticking pamphlets and tracts into the pockets of items on the clothing tables, especially ones that announce God’s judgment in technicolor detail and claiming that it can be avoided simply by repeating a short prayer that is like an incantation of sorts, then running to the nearest body of water to be baptized. The gospel is not about avoiding eternal fire. That’s a side benefit at best. The gospel is about being invited into the joy of God’s presence, and how Jesus can and will enter the places of despair and torment to get us out of them and into the kingdom of love and light. Not all pamphlets are like hers, of course, although I still think that sneaking something into someone’s hands that way makes a bad impression.
The same way, back in the Dark Ages there were several Christian metal bands, like Petra, that didn’t work for me. Headbanging for Jesus? I don’t think so. But as an alternative to KISS and Judas Priest? I guess it was good in that way, and some people really do respond well to amplification, just like others respond well to acoustic jazz.
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” [II Corinthians 9:6]
Even someone who had very particular preferences in literature, C.S. Lewis, wrote both very intellectual explanations of the faith and children’s books that were like fairy tales – but to talk about what Jesus is like and what faith means. He also wrote poetry about his own experience of conversion and growth, and published his notes about what it was like to lose his wife to cancer and wrestle with the grief that followed. All of those were written for different types of readers because
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” [II Corinthians 9:6]
If you spread the good news in only one way, or to only one type of person, that is sowing sparingly.
Think about your own circles. There are your family, your friends, and your coworkers, all of whom you know, and most of whom are probably a lot like you, at least in their ways of looking at the world. That’s not always the case, of course. I’m generalizing a little. Yet there is a whole world of other people. Try this: If you usually shop at Acme, go and look at the people who shop at Giant. Even better, if you shop at either of those places, spend a little time at Produce Junction or Kimberton Whole Foods. Who do you see?
Or go online and find articles that would be of interest to people who have formed what might be called communities of shared needs. That is where you can learn about what is going through the hearts and minds of parents, immigrants, cancer patients, or entrepreneurs. Skip down to the bottom and read the comments and questions. Then ponder and pray. What part of Jesus’ message speaks to them? How could they hear it?
Here’s yet another angle. What about those with shared talents? Dancers, listeners, cooks, people who are multilingual – who knows who else – who are looking to find something in the process of creating or celebrating what God has given them? Is there any way that, in putting their skills into action, they can encounter the One who is the source of all that is good? They could be helped to discover the meaning of Paul’s assertion of the value of giving:
“You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God.” [II Corinthians 9:11-12]
The hard part is in letting people approach God in ways that do not work for us. Even so,
“God loves a cheerful giver” [II Corinthians 9:7]
and one thing we can give is permission— giving God permission to do his work as he will (as if he needs our permission!), and giving permission to people to respond and to grow in depth of faith and in turn to bear fruit as God gives them the grace.
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” [II Corinthians 9:6]
God bless my Vivaldi, and bless your heavy metal, too, if each can honor him.
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