2 Corinthians 9

The Explanation

It was evening. A little lamp was burning in a small room.

At the table sat a man. His name was Paul.

Paul had ink on his fingers. He was writing a letter.

He wrote slowly, letter by letter. Scratch, scratch, went his pen.

Paul was writing to his friends far, far away.

He thought about other friends too. Friends who were hungry.

They had no bread. Their bellies felt empty and sad.

Paul knew that. And it made his heart ache.

So he wrote: "Dear friends, do you remember? You wanted to help."

"You said: we will save up bread and money. We will send it."

Paul smiled a little. His friends had wanted to help so much.

They were happy to help. Not sad about it. Happy.

What Does This Mean?

Then Paul dipped his pen in the ink again.

He wanted to tell them something. Something about a farmer.

"Think of a farmer," Paul wrote. "He walks through his field."

The sun is warm on the farmer's back. The ground is brown.

In his hand the farmer holds seeds. Little, hard seeds.

He throws them out. Swish. Swish. Over all the ground.

And then he waits. And waits. And waits some more.

The rain comes. The sun comes. And look!

Little green shoots come up out of the ground.

They grow tall. They grow golden. A whole field full!

Now there is grain. And from grain comes bread.

Warm bread that smells so good.

"That is how it works," Paul wrote. "You give a little away."

"And God makes something big grow from it."

The Common Thread

Paul was almost done. But one more thing.

He thought: who gave that farmer his seeds?

Who made the rain fall? Who made the sun shine warm?

God did. God gives the seed. God gives the bread.

Everything the farmer has, he got from God first.

And Paul thought about the very best gift of all.

God gave us Jesus. His own Son. For us.

Paul was so glad he almost could not say it.

He wrote it down anyway, big and happy:

"Thank you, God, for your gift! Thank you!"

And then the letter was finished.

For You

Paul rolled up his letter. He gave it to a friend.

The friend walked far, over dusty roads, to bring it.

And the friends read it. And they gave. With happy faces.

God loves it when you give with a happy face.

Not with a grumpy face. Not because you have to.

Just because giving makes your heart glad.

Maybe you have a cookie. Two bites left.

You could give one bite away. To your brother. Or your friend.

That is a tiny seed. And God makes something grow from it.

Do you know what grows? Somebody smiles. And says thank you.

And then, way up high, God is happy too.

Talk About It

What is something you could give to someone else today?

How does your face look when you give something happily?

Praying Together

Dear God, thank you for bread. Thank you for seeds that grow.

Thank you for Jesus, your very best gift.

Help me to give happily. Amen.