One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Proverbs 11:24
This seems counterintuitive. Surely if I give freely, I will have less. How does this principle work out in practice?
Think about farming. The farmer has a sack of seed. What does he do? He scatters it freely. Then, when harvest comes, the seed comes back to him in greater abundance.
The New Testament takes up this picture: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor. 9:6).
So here are two farmers, and they both have a sack of seed. The first one says, “This seed is very precious. I need it to make bread. I can’t afford to throw it around.” So he holds back most of his seed. When harvest comes, there’s not much for him to reap.
The second farmer says, “This seed is very precious. I need it to make bread. But I know that if I sow this seed, it will multiply. So I will hold back only what I need, and everything else I will sow.” He sows bountifully, and when the harvest comes, he reaps bountifully.
No one ever gave more freely than Jesus. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Cor 8:9). “The Son of God… loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).
What comes from His self-giving? The Father is honoured. We are blessed. And Jesus Christ Himself will see the fruit of the travail of His soul and be satisfied (Is. 53:11).
That hasn’t happened yet. But it will. The day is coming when all the redeemed will be gathered, and Christ will stand before the Father and say, “Behold, I and the children God has given me” (Heb. 2:13).
Are you holding back, or are you giving freely, so that what you have can be multiplied in God’s hands?
