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It’s All in the Planting
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." [Gal:6:9]
My Father left the farm to search for work when he was a young man during the great depression. When he packed his stuff to go he forgot and left a big piece of his heart behind on the farm. Even though he moved to “where the money was” to take part in the industrial boom in the 1940’s a part of him never strayed from his roots in the good earth.
I remember helping him with his animals and following him up and down the rows of vegetables he planted on his days off from working his “regular job”. He taught me many things, not the least was the ancient law of “Sowing and reaping".
The prosperity preachers drive this subject in the ground with their “send me money and you will get rich” type of sermons and frankly it reflects poorly on the Church and gives Christians a bad name. While it is true that God blesses us when we support the His work their approach to this subject is misguided at best. We do not give to get. If you give simply to receive it is not an act of love it is a business agreement.
I don’t look at the sowing scriptures as being primarily about money anyway. We reap and sow a lot of things that have nothing to do with money. If you are kind, you reap kindness. If you are friendly people will like you. But if you are a gossip, people will sooner or later gossip about you. If you are mean, meanness comes back to you in return. It is a natural as well as a Spiritual law. We reap the things we sow, it’s as simple as that. The things we feel are important when we raise our kids will show up again when they are adults, not always in the form we are expecting or desire. Be careful and think about what you do. Chase money and neglect your children and watch what happens when they are grown. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” Galatians 6:7.
It’s All in the Planting
"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." [Gal:6:9]
My Father left the farm to search for work when he was a young man during the great depression. When he packed his stuff to go he forgot and left a big piece of his heart behind on the farm. Even though he moved to “where the money was” to take part in the industrial boom in the 1940’s a part of him never strayed from his roots in the good earth.
I remember helping him with his animals and following him up and down the rows of vegetables he planted on his days off from working his “regular job”. He taught me many things, not the least was the ancient law of “Sowing and reaping".
The prosperity preachers drive this subject in the ground with their “send me money and you will get rich” type of sermons and frankly it reflects poorly on the Church and gives Christians a bad name. While it is true that God blesses us when we support the His work their approach to this subject is misguided at best. We do not give to get. If you give simply to receive it is not an act of love it is a business agreement.
I don’t look at the sowing scriptures as being primarily about money anyway. We reap and sow a lot of things that have nothing to do with money. If you are kind, you reap kindness. If you are friendly people will like you. But if you are a gossip, people will sooner or later gossip about you. If you are mean, meanness comes back to you in return. It is a natural as well as a Spiritual law. We reap the things we sow, it’s as simple as that. The things we feel are important when we raise our kids will show up again when they are adults, not always in the form we are expecting or desire. Be careful and think about what you do. Chase money and neglect your children and watch what happens when they are grown. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” Galatians 6:7.
"As long as the earth exists seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease."[Gen:8:22]
My Father would drop four seeds at a time into the furrow on each row and he had a rhyme he quoted to me while he planted, “one for the cut-worm, one for the crow, one to rot, and one to grow”. He knew there were obstacles to the success of his harvest, and he allowed for that. As Christians we are very much connected with the planting of “seeds” in Gods kingdom, our harvest can be very much hindered by outside sources, there is a parable in the Bible that tells of birds stealing the seeds before they have a chance to grow. Matthew 13:4 “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up”. Satan will do everything he can to distract from the message, that is why we must remain constant and faithful to the task at hand in spite of the things that are thrown at us.
Sometimes in a particularly dry season the harvest may be late, the seeds may not sprout until after the rains finally come. Even then they come up spindly and weak. But we must continue to plant even when it seems the harvest is poor. The "Lord of the Harvest" has everything under control and things are not always what they seem. God has a way of turning what seems to be a disaster into a blessing and our worse failures into victories.
My Father would drop four seeds at a time into the furrow on each row and he had a rhyme he quoted to me while he planted, “one for the cut-worm, one for the crow, one to rot, and one to grow”. He knew there were obstacles to the success of his harvest, and he allowed for that. As Christians we are very much connected with the planting of “seeds” in Gods kingdom, our harvest can be very much hindered by outside sources, there is a parable in the Bible that tells of birds stealing the seeds before they have a chance to grow. Matthew 13:4 “As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up”. Satan will do everything he can to distract from the message, that is why we must remain constant and faithful to the task at hand in spite of the things that are thrown at us.
Sometimes in a particularly dry season the harvest may be late, the seeds may not sprout until after the rains finally come. Even then they come up spindly and weak. But we must continue to plant even when it seems the harvest is poor. The "Lord of the Harvest" has everything under control and things are not always what they seem. God has a way of turning what seems to be a disaster into a blessing and our worse failures into victories.
- "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." [Gal:6:9] Sometimes standing faithful is the best we can do, as we trust God for a harvest we may not always get to see. The seeds we plant sometimes take years to mature but even if we do not see our harvest in this life we will receive our harvest nonetheless. You hear stories of parents who pray for years for their wayward children only to have them converted after the parents have passed away.
We sow our spiritual seeds with prayer and we “water” them with the word, and there will be a harvest. It is a promise and we have to trust God for that. Sometimes we might reap a better harvest than at other times. But if we do our part our effort will be repaid. Mark 4:20 “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” I heard a story once of a Mother who prayed over her son’s shoes only to have his friend who borrowed them get saved. It wasn’t what she expected by she got a harvest.
God bids us go into his “field” and sow “seeds” for the furtherance of his Kingdom, that souls might be saved and that people might be strengthened and influenced. We should plant generously and hope for a bountiful harvest. "But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully."[2Cor:9:6]. Also "He that sows little shall reap little; and he which sows generously shall reap also generously." [2Cor:9:6]. We will stand before the “Lord of the Harvest” someday soon and I don’t want to stand ashamed, embarrassed by a lazy job, I want to at least be able to tell him that I tried. - Jireh's Girl
We sow our spiritual seeds with prayer and we “water” them with the word, and there will be a harvest. It is a promise and we have to trust God for that. Sometimes we might reap a better harvest than at other times. But if we do our part our effort will be repaid. Mark 4:20 “And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” I heard a story once of a Mother who prayed over her son’s shoes only to have his friend who borrowed them get saved. It wasn’t what she expected by she got a harvest.
God bids us go into his “field” and sow “seeds” for the furtherance of his Kingdom, that souls might be saved and that people might be strengthened and influenced. We should plant generously and hope for a bountiful harvest. "But this I say, He which sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully."[2Cor:9:6]. Also "He that sows little shall reap little; and he which sows generously shall reap also generously." [2Cor:9:6]. We will stand before the “Lord of the Harvest” someday soon and I don’t want to stand ashamed, embarrassed by a lazy job, I want to at least be able to tell him that I tried. - Jireh's Girl