Mark 4:26-29 (NIV)
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is
like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or
gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by
itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full
kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it,
because the harvest has come.”
As a scarecrow standing out her for weeks I have seen
many exciting things. Today has had to be the most exciting. Today vegetables
were taken from the garden. Red tomatoes, leafy lettuce and crowns of broccoli all
on the first day of harvest.
It is one of God’s greatest wonders to watch a garden grow. After preparing the soil, planting the seed,
watering, and fertilizing, all a person can do is watch the plants grow. If the conditions are not right, the plants
won’t grow to maturity. So it is with
our walk with God. We have the
responsibility of preparing our hearts, and planting the word of God in our
hearts. We have to water our hearts with
prayer. But only GOD can truly cause the
growth. He provides the right spiritual
conditions for us to grow in Him.
The type of seed that we sow into the soil of our hearts
determines what kind of crop we’ll get.
There have been times when a seed manufacturer slipped seed into packets
I bought that contained weeds and weed grass.
Of course, this means more weeding once the bad seed grew up out of the
soil. This is what it is like when we
sow bad things in our lives.
There are a variety of bad seeds, which represent the
desires of the “flesh.” The seeds of the
“flesh” are those things which are opposite of God’s will, and His desire for
our growth. Some examples of bad seed
are:
Excessive television, Obsession with things, Pornography
of any type, Aimless thought life, Gossiping, Slander, Exaggerating, Bragging, Unforgiveness,
Bitterness, Hatred, Greed the list seems to be endless.
Of course, we can sow things that will build up our
spirit, and this is like sowing good seed into the soil of our hearts. Sometimes thinking of what we can plant as
good seed is so simple; it merely takes a friendly reminder to start doing it:
Daily reading and meditation upon the scriptures, Prayer,
and fellowship with God the Father, and with His son Jesus, Reaching out to
help others, sharing our faith, resources, time, and money to be a blessing
wherever there are needs, Praising and thanking God for who He is, and all He
has done for us, Thanking others for their kindness to us, Listening to
uplifting music about the Lord, Reading books about God, and other people’s
experiences with the Lord, Taking time to pray for others, including when you
assemble together anywhere, Meeting with other believers regularly for
fellowship, edification and encouragement, Sending a card, a note, or as letter
to someone who needs our love, Making a phone call to a friend, Loving those
who are your enemy, or who demonstrate hatred towards you, Forgiving others
when they wrong you; never holding a grudge against someone, Leaning on God
during the hard times. This list is endless also
The things we do indicate that the amount of time and
energy that we invest in seeking God will be the measure of what we
harvest. It is not necessarily just a
matter of doing more things for God, but of surrendering our whole person and
life to His will. Jesus is the supreme
example of being wholly given to God’s will.
He is our example. He is the Master. We are his servants.
Many Christians are lukewarm without even knowing
it! They have become satisfied with
status quo Christianity. To them, going
to church, putting some money in the offering basket, and reading a few
scripture verses are enough. Some don’t
even do that. These kinds of believers
will harvest very little of that which is of eternal value. It takes discipline, and a continued seeking
of God to harvest plentifully. It is
allot of work at times to serve the Lord, but it always a joy.
It is crucial that a person harvest their fruit when it
is ready, or it can become rotten, or the insects and birds of the air can eat
it. There are always many hurting souls
that need our love. There are always
people that need Jesus. Many Christians
make excuses for why they won’t reach out to the lost. They say, “I’m not ready yet; I need to know
more first.” While it is true that
knowledge is helpful, love is the greatest gift God gave us.
There is no greater reward to a gardener than to pluck
fresh, ripe, healthy vegetables from the garden. Nothing tastes as good as homegrown
veggies. It is the reason the gardener
invested so much time and effort. God
has invested much time and effort into us, that He too, might have a harvest of
souls. God planted His own son Jesus as
the most precious seed in the soil of humanity.
Now the Father waits on us to be His harvesters. The crops are ready...will we go pick
them? Will we step outside of ourselves,
and reach out to others?
Sometimes we have the opportunity to become partakers of
another person’s labors for the Lord: “I sent you to reap that for which you
have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
If you have prayed for a loved one who doesn't know Jesus,
but have been unable to reach them with your own words, wouldn't you want some
other Christian to be obedient to God’s voice, and harvest their soul? You see how personal this harvest of God’s
has become? We are fellow workers
together with God and each other. Each
one, then, must take responsibility for the harvest of souls as we see from
Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9: I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing
the growth. So then neither the one who
plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one;
but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are
God's field, God's building.
May we all work for the harvest that is out there and
ready for us.
Dear Lord we thank You for the harvest that is ready for
each of us. Help us be willing to do our part to bring in the harvest of souls
for You. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.