Reciprocity

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days (Ecclesiastes 11:1).

The idea in the above verse is that the waves will bring back to you what you throw out into the water.

Reciprocity is an action that produces in return an action of the same kind. It’s a law in the kingdom of God. In one sense our lives are filled with sowing and reaping. Our tomorrow is found in seed form in what we do today. My actions today are the foundation for tomorrow’s living.

Not only is this a law of the kingdom of God, it’s an eternal promise attached to the earth. While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease (Genesis 8:22).

This principle is not just about finances, but it applies to all of life. Notice what Jesus said in Luke 6:37-38: Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.

The actions, words, attitudes, and kindness that I show today will come back to me. The way I treat others is the way I will be treated. If that is true, I should see every action and word as a seed that will produce a harvest in my life. So what kind of harvest do I want? Plant the seed for it today!

This also includes our material and financial lives. Notice 2 Corinthians 9:6: But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

And again we find this principle in Galatians 6:7, where it also refers to the Galatian believers giving to those who minister the Word to them: Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.

Yet Paul broadens this concept to include a believer’s whole life, including his spiritual life in Galatians 6:8:-9: For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

See yourself as a seed planter today. Only throw the bread on the water that you want to see again! This is a law. A law works all the time. It’s sometimes slow and methodical, but it is always working behind the scenes.

This principle of receiving what you sow is working right now in you. If you’ve sown some bad seed, cry out in repentance for the mercy of God to cleanse you from the wrong. Mercy is when you don’t receive what you deserve! And sometimes God’s mercy will root up a negative seed we’re planted!

Expect the bread you’ve thrown on the water to come back. Sow seeds of kindness, love and mercy into others today. The day will come that you’ll need these in your own life. Let’s sow seed today that we’ll be glad to reap tomorrow.