“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.
(Isaiah 55:10-11)
God expects when He gives. There is a return on what He gives. That return is usually realising big on something delivered in a small way. A seed becomes a tree. A seed becomes a tribe. A seed becomes a dominion. A word becomes a nation. A word becomes salvation. A word becomes a brand-new creation. God expects when He gives.
When God sends His word to us, as we grow to understand and appreciate it, we honour where it came from by working to fulfil what it was sent to do. We do that by stewarding and cultivating it so that we can make the most of it and realise that what appeared small is significant in depth and meaning because of the One who sent it. Such is the honour of cultivating and stewarding it that the seriousness is taken to guard it carefully, ensuring that only what is helpful in it is permitted and that everything harmful to it is removed and avoided.
This is with the desire that whatever was sent will be returned to the sender, having accomplished the purpose for which it was sent out. The fulfilment is greater than the initial instruction, as the tree is greater than the seed, and the nation is greater than the word.
When God gives, an appropriate response is to honour God by being a good steward over what He has given. Part of that stewardship is cultivating what is given. Then there’s the responsibility to guard what has been entrusted to you.
So be it.
For His Name’s Sake
C. L. J. Dryden
Shalom
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