9:6 sows . . . reap. An agricultural metaphor—the farmer who plants much seed reaps a large crop, but a small planting yields a small harvest. This promise is also true in the spiritual realm. Those who give generously will reap abundantly for the kingdom. What is given is never lost; it is sown. While God may at times provide a generous harvest in the physical and material realm to those who give, this is not the New Testament promise or pattern (8:9; 11:27; Luke 6:20, 21, 24, 25; James 2:5).