Sowing and Reaping

(Prov 20:4 NLT) Those too lazy to plow in the right season will have no food at the harvest.

This morning we continue in the book of Proverbs. In the last chapter Solomon said, "Some people are too lazy to lift a hand to feed themselves" (19:24). This is not the first time Solomon spoke out against laziness. I have already shared an abundance of scriptures, from all throughout the Bible, that admonish us to be self-motivated, to work hard, and to represent God well in all that we do. Today, as we deal with the topic of laziness again, I will approach it from a slightly different angle. Today we will discuss sowing and reaping.

In Genesis chapter 8, after the flood that destroyed everything outside of Noah's Ark, the Lord vowed to "Never again curse the ground because of man." Looking forward from the flood the Lord said, "As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Just like there is a cycle of summer and winter, a cycle of cold and heat, and a cycle of day and night, there is a cycle of seedtime and harvest that will not cease until the end of the earth (as we know it). This cycle of seedtime and harvest could also be expressed as seed, time, and harvest.

I separated the word "time" from seedtime to indicate the fact that there is normally a period of time required for a seed to germinate and fully develop into a harvest. The sad reality is that many believers sow what they believe to be good seed, but they somehow expect the harvest to come overnight. No, there is an unspecified period of time required for the harvest to come back to us, but if we are willing to endure, for the long haul, harvest time WILL come. So if what I sow today - in love, peace, harmony, forgiveness, mercy, tenderness, money, and etc. - will come back to me 'some day,' then the only way to ensure I am continually reaping a Godly harvest is to continually sow Godly seed.

This means that if expect to reap God's goodness every day, then I need to sow God's goodness every day. The seeds I sow today (good or bad) will produce a harvest in my future and the harvest I receive today (good or bad) will be a result of the seeds I have sown in my past. Amen?

Now, you may be thinking, "Wait a minute, how does that work? How is it that what I do will come back to me somehow?" Here is my quick answer: I DON'T KNOW! I am not God. But I do know what I have experienced and what God has said; and it is all throughout scripture. Jesus talked about this in Mark 4. Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens." The farmer does need to know all the science behind how the process works. He just knows that if puts corn seed in the ground corn will come up. And while he may not understand how the whole thing works, if you keep reading Jesus explains that the farmer does have enough sense to get his sickle ready when harvest time comes. And the awesomeness of sowing and reaping is the fact that the harvest is always exponentially more than the seed sown. For example, Hosea told us that if we sow wind we would reap a whirlwind (Hosea 8:7).

So what does this mean to you ? It simply means that if you want a continual harvest you will have to be diligent in sowing continual seed. Don't allow laziness to keep you from sowing the right seed. If you do, you will be ruining your future.

I will close with the words of Paul: "Don't be misled... What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others-ignoring God!-harvests a crop of weeds... But the one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life. So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit" (Gal 6:7-9).

Father, You are the Lord of the Harvest. As Your child I am a faithful sower. I sow seeds of love, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faith, forgiveness, and finances and as I do, I expect a correspondent return. I have full confidence that I will reap what sow, and that confidence gives me extra motivation in sowing the right seed. I overcome every inkling of laziness. I sow continually and therefore I will reap continually. My future is bright because I have the right seed in the ground. In Jesus' name. Amen!