Some ways of life prove themselves again and again, revealing an underlying universal reality.

Paul wrote a reminder to the Corinthian church, encouraging them to continue to give to those in need. He penned this timeless truth:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.

Few philosophies work out better for those who practice them than generousity. This is not just a Judeo-Christian truth, but everyone who practices generosity, regardless of creed or religion or the lack thereof, benefits from the practice.

The reverse is also true, the miserly of resources and love inevitably dies alone, in spirit and often without anyone near who cares for them. Years of selfishness dries up good will, a withering drought of the soul.

Give of your labor, your influence, your finances and your expertise. Do so willingly if at all possible, or just by faith, knowing that feelings will follow. Because the more you sow, the more you reap, and that’s a truth you can count on.

2 Corinthians 9 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Dương Trí

One bumper sticker piece of advice I hear bantered about is to follow your heart. Which I assume means follow my whims, my desires, my wants wherever they lead. Fulfill myself and I’ll achieve happiness.

But the scriptures rebuff this sentiment. Jeremiah wrote: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

So…what do I follow? My heart that I know so well, representing my deepest desires and hopes, that apparently carries a seed of duplicity unknown even to me? Or maybe there’s another way?

A few lines before Jeremiah indeed laid out a heart cure: Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

My heart is prone to wander. After all these years of life I know that for sure. I counter the deceit, the straying off after the frivolous, by anchoring my heart in the Lord and sending down roots.

Jeremiah 17 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Zach Reiner

Once, when discussing how hungry I sometimes get through the day, my friend replied that when it came to eating he liked to stay topped off. Overeating—staying topped off—is an easy habit to adopt but a hard one to break. Unfortunately, I adhere to this peculiar diet way too often.

Jeremiah referred to another peculiar diet in this prayer to the Lord:

When your words came, I ate them; they were my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name, Lord God Almighty.

Jeremiah took promises and commands from God and ate them. He ingested, savored, sated his hunger and enjoyed their fullness. I think of meals where the food is so good I can’t get enough, or on the flip side, the bitter taste of necessary medicine.

Eating means to consume, to ingest, to absorb and digest. I eat daily. When I skip meals my stomach reminds me of its emptiness, prodding me to dine once again.

I approach my time with the Bible in similar fashion. Like Jeremiah, I eat the words, both encouraging and challenging, ingesting them for the health of my soul and body and relationships.

In this case, staying topped off isn’t a health hazard, but a benefit to me and those around me.

Jeremiah 15 in reading the Bible in 2023

Photo by Tim Mossholder

I watch a lot of football, and the playing field is no place for weakness. A game featuring big heavy sweating grunting men shoving each other, the weak end up at the bottom of the pile. Teams invest in massive weight and training facilities to avoid such weakness, and every coach wants the strongest guys in the league on their team.

Most of our world works this way. Nations build powerful militaries, citizens desire robust protection from crime, and we look for strength in our investments.

Which is why Paul’s comments on weakness slow me down. Paul wrote about a chronic physical ailment, one that constantly frustrated him and sapped his strength:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me…For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Turns out, the less I can do with my strength, the more I depend on the Lord. The less I shine in my (supposed) brilliance, the more luminous the power of God. When good spreads to others in the muddle of my weakness, then the Lord comes into focus as I fade.

When I am weak, than I am strong. Countercultural yes, but the ways of God usually befuddle the wisdom I’ve learned from this world. Christ’s power arrives through weakness. Not so good in the football scrum, but a much better way to approach life with one another.

2 Corinthians 12 in reading the Bible in 2023

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