Planting and Reaping

           In our move to the country when I was six year's old, that would make it about 1944, we had no power tools. The lawn mower was a push type and a couple of hand scythes. Our gardening implements included a shovel, a hard rake and a hoe. There was no such thing at our place as a tiller or tractor. In the Spring, Dad would dig up the soil of a large garden plot and then with the rake and the hoe, chop up the clods until the seed bed was smooth. He took string and two sticks to mark off the row and carefully moved the how along the string, making a small seed bed for next year's crop. He would carefully drop the seeds into the little trench and then gently cover them with the fine dirt, gently tapping each section of the row. At the end of the row, a stick was placed into the ground with the seed packed on the top of the stick. Soon, the little seeds would spout and send up a greet shoot through the ground. In three months, the house would be filled with green beans, tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and other vegetables. Dad would reap that which he had sown. Second Corinthians 9:6 says, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” 

          The principle is basically the same with our spiritual lives. The seed that is sown is the word of God. We are the ones who do the sowing and God is the One that does the reaping. One implement for preparing spiritual soil is prayer. We begin by praying for the one to whom we wish to cast forth the Word of God. Another mode of preparation is kindness and it reflects our attitude to the person who will be our “field.” There is also the matter of our testimony before the individual who will receive the seed. As you can readily see, this process is going to take some time and will be going on at various levels all of our lives. The Apostle Paul reminds us that there are some who plant the seed, some who water the seed and perhaps others who finally reap that which was sown. The growth time is different for every person. In gardening, radishes pop up quickly while carrots take a little longer. Of all the ways to spread the Gospel message, God chose to use believers. Mankind doesn't have to be saved. With the free will of man, each has the opportunity to make a decision. It is interesting to note that people in a nation such as our have heard the Gospel message time and time again and many refuse to decide for Christ. At the same time, a village who has never heard the message finds it easier to accept and believe when they hear it for the first time. We are all “missionaries” so to speak as we represent the Lord Jesus Christ here on earth and seek to spread the Word to those who need to be saved. While there are many believers in the world today, the world is still only about one third Christian so there is much to do. The ultimate goal is that the gospel would go out to all the ends of the earth until every person is worshiping God. For you, that might mean the people in your family or your circle of friends and co workers or perhaps the person living down the street. If someone is not worshiping God, then there is your mission field. Praise God today that He is still the Lord of the Harvest.