Sharing

For the first time in years, I have a vegetable garden which has been producing far beyond expectations. The result is that I am sharing squash, eggplant, cucumbers, jalapeno and green peppers, and anticipate having more tomatoes and okra than Michael and I alone can use. Hating to see the fruits of my labor going to waste, I have been sharing the excess (which is most of it) with friends and neighbors, and I have found out along the way who likes or doesn’t like eggplant!

Sharing has been such an easy thing to do. I have more than we need so I share the excess. We share other things, sometimes without taking a second thought: a meal with loved ones and friends, stories, some funny, some wise, travel experiences, celebrations, difficulties. Sharing, it seems to me, is naturally built into our natures
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Currently the Monday Bible study is reading Acts. The end of chapter two records that these new followers of Christ sold “their possessions and goods and distribute(d) the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Now today, we rarely see anyone who sells everything, and indeed, that practice did not work out well in the long term, as the Jerusalem church had financial difficulties attested by Paul’s taking up offerings to send to them. The phrase that strikes me, however, is “as any had need.” We are called to be generous by sharing the bounty of our lives. How fortunate that our church has opportunities to share: giving food and donations to the food pantry ministry, sharing gifts of teaching and fellowship with our Navajo brothers and sisters, supporting those in our church by offering rides to doctor appointments and grocery stores, thus sharing our time, gifting young people whose families have limited funds with college and school supplies. I’m sure there are more examples; what kind of sharing comes to your mind? All of this points to the most important thing we are sharing, and that is the love of Christ. How wonderful it is when we can look at others, see their needs, and experience joy as we are able to help by using our own resources.

The Bible comments on sharing and giving. Proverbs 11: 24-25 gives both a warning and a promise: “Some give freely yet grow all the richer; others withhold what is due, and only suffer want. A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water” (NRSV), an idea which is confirmed later in Proverbs 22: 9: “Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor.”

John the baptizer exhorts the crowds who come out to be baptized to “Bear fruits worthy of repentance” because “every tree that does not bear good fruits is cut down and thrown into the fire…Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise” (Luke 3: 8-11). The apostle John affirms this advice when he writes in 1 John 3: 16-18: “We know love by this, that he (Jesus) laid down his life for us—and we ought to lay down our lives for one another. How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and refuses to help? Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” In writing to the Romans, Paul puts this succinctly, “Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.”

Paul has seen the results of generous sharing. In 2 Corinthians, he writes about the generosity of the Macedonians who, even in difficult times, “voluntarily gave according to their means, and even beyond their means” (8:3). Later (9: 10-11) Paul acknowledges the results of sharing; he writes, “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us.”

How easy it has been to share the bounty of my vegetable garden with others. God has enriched me in other ways as well, with spiritual gifts, with sufficient means by which to live, with blessing upon blessing, showering me with His love. I have tried to become more aware of the needs around me, those of our church, my neighbors and friends, our community around our church. I challenge myself to find ways to use my resources, to be generous with time, talents, and money so that I share God’s love with others. In this season of bountiful gardens, may we all assess what we have, what we need, and what we can share so that we can show God’s gracious and abundant love to others.