- Grace Of Giving (Part One)
- Grace Of Giving – Part Two
- Sowing And Reaping
- She Put In Everything She Had
One day, while trying to make a living for his family, Fleming, a poor Scottish farmer, heard a cry for help coming from the bogs. Now peat bogs are “wet spongy ground of decomposing vegetation; has poorer drainage than a swamp; soil is unfit for cultivation but can be cut and dried and used for fuel”. Many have lost their lives sinking down in the bogs. Fleming dropped his tools and ran to the bog where he found a terrified boy, up to his waist, hopelessly stuck and sinking. With a rope, he slowly pulled the boy to safety.
The next day a man, who was obviously well off, appeared at the poor farmer’s door. He introduced himself as the father of the boy he had saved. “I want to repay you,” he said. “No, I can’t accept payment for what I did” the farmer said. At that moment, the farmer’s own son came to the door. “Is this your son”? The nobleman asked. “Yes, this is my son Alexander”, the farmer said proudly. “I’ll make you a deal” said the nobleman. “Let me take your son, and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he will make you very proud.” They agreed.
In time the farmer’s son graduated from St. Mary’s Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to be known throughout the world as Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of PENICILLIN. Years afterward, the nobleman’s son caught Pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin!
What was the name of the nobleman’s son? Sir Winston Churchill! This is a true story which illustrates an old principle. Giving is not all and only about the money, it is all about actions of the heart, which always speak louder than money. Paul put it another way, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers” (Galatians 6:7-10).
The principle of “what goes around comes around” “what you sow will be what you reap” are basic laws which even though sometimes we don’t like, they work, and will change your life, and maybe many others as well. “I just don’t believe it!” someone says. That’s fine… one may not believe in gravity either, yet it still works. Listen, a person may not understand this principle of giving, any more than how the law of aerodynamics work, but the fact is, it works!
As you live your life, give some thought to those you meet, who knows, the one you reach out to, the one you help, may just become a “Sir Winston Churchill” or “Sir Alexander Fleming”.