Small steps over time

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. (Galatians 6:7-9)

Successful people 'do' consistently what others 'do' occasionally. It may come as a surprise to some, but we have to intentionally prioritize whatever it is we want to realize in our lives. Intentions don't always determine our end results, do they? We can have great intentions but miserable results. Consistent actions are what determines 'success', not just great intentions. We start by doing the smallest of 'right' things, then we add to those some slightly bigger 'right' things until we one day see change happening. It is what happens OVER TIME that reveals success or failure.

Three laws of reaping: 1) You reap what you sow; 2) You reap more than you sow; and 3) You reap only after you sow. We might have gotten a little ahead of ourselves if we didn't take the smaller steps, expecting a huge harvest, but not seeing much growth at all. Sow to the flesh and you shouldn't be surprised to reap a greater harvest of flesh. Fleshly seeds will reap more and more sin in our lives - not as a punishment, but simply as a 'natural harvest' of what was planted. If we don't like what we have been harvesting, it is time to change the seeds we are sowing!

God multiplies what we sow. When we do the small 'right' things, we see a harvest beyond the size of the 'seed' we have sown. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. If the seeds we have been sowing haven't produced a good harvest, it is time to change the seed and see what God will do with it! Remember this - our life is the sum total of the actions we take - good, bad, all of them. When we 'identify' with the wrong we have done, we might not see any other 'seed' as possible. When we allow God to change where our focus is and identify with the 'Christ-seed' that is within us, we might just begin to see a different harvest! Just sayin!

Purposeful, not random

The return we reap from generous actions is not always evident. (Francesco Guicciardini)

Give freely, and you will profit. Help others, and you will gain more for yourself. (Proverbs11:25)

The actions of sowing and reaping are well-established. The seed is put into the ground, the harvest is tended, then it is reaped, allowing for provision today and into the future. If the one sowing stopped sowing, would the harvest end? Eventually, for natural 'reseeding' occurs to some extent, but to yield a sustainable crop for generations to come, one must purposefully plant. 

The purposeful actions of today will produce a harvest well into the future, but all that is sown must be tended. We might share the hope of the gospel, but are we always the ones to tend it? No, there is usually some 'tending' done by someone other than us - perhaps the Holy Spirit alone, or perhaps he will engage another who will refresh the soil of the heart time and time again until that 'seed of faith' is properly germinated. Either way, the seed only germinates because it is tended.

We can give a lot out of our lives - what gets tended will yield the biggest 'crop'. It may not always be evident how much we are tending the crop in another's life, but when there are purposeful actions to love one another as Christ loves each of us, there is sure to be a germination of grace and love in the process. What is reaped will not always be evident for the 'purposeful seeds' we plant, though. Sometimes we see a harvest way different from what we expected!

God trusts us to be 'generous in our sowing' - he gave grace so freely, so we give freely from that position of grace. Let there be purpose behind your actions, my friends. When there is purposeful giving, there is purposeful reaping. Random 'seeding' is fine if we want a 'random' harvest. Purposeful planting yeilds a predetermined harvest. Just sayin!

A life more fruitful

Mark Twain said that the human race had one really 'effective' weapon - laughter. I think our most effective weapon is not really laughter as much as it is the Word of God. Laughter might give us a momentary release - the Word of God and what it can accomplish within us is lasting and sure. Have you ever been reading through scripture only to find something within the passage 'calls out' some behavior you have been struggling with, or reveals some answer to a worry you have been mulling over? The purpose of the Word of God is to teach us - to make us wise. We are able to discern direction once hidden from us because of the work of the Spirit of God within us and the revelation of the Word of God to us. If we want more than an 'immediate release', we need to take in what can give us a permanent and secure hope.

If you rebuke a mocker, you will only get a smart retort; yes, he will snarl at you. So don’t bother with him; he will only hate you for trying to help him. But a wise man, when rebuked, will love you all the more. Teach a wise man, and he will be the wiser; teach a good man, and he will learn more. For the reverence and fear of God are basic to all wisdom. Knowing God results in every other kind of understanding. “I, Wisdom, will make the hours of your day more profitable and the years of your life more fruitful.” Wisdom is its own reward, and if you scorn her, you hurt only yourself. (Proverbs 9:8-12)

Who among us doesn't want a more fruitful life? If we embrace God's wisdom - the holy scriptures - we are bound to see fruit. Why? The seed of truth isn't just casually cast into our lives - it is purposefully placed. Teach a wise man and he will be wiser - because the seed is taken in, then it is turned over in the fertile soil of his heart and nurtured there by the Spirit of God until it takes root. When good seed takes root, fruit is bound to come forth. Knowing God results in every kind of understanding - even though we are unlearned in so many ways, God's Spirit can give us wisdom far beyond our years or education. 

Wisdom adds years to our lives - years that become more settled and certain as we allow God to impart his wisdom within. We could go through life on our own, but the wise man or woman will embrace all the help to sort out life's woes and worries as much as possible. Why? They have learned trusting in one's own ability to consistently produce the best outcomes (fruit) is pretty close to impossible. Good men exist, but any goodness that is 'self-made' is still flawed goodness. There is but one 'goodness' that is perfect - Christ's. There is but one source of true goodness of heart, mind, and spirit - to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with all we have within us. 

Seeds will be planted today. They can be seeds of goodness and grace, springing forth in season in an even bigger harvest of that which reveals the goodness and grace of God within. They can be seeds of self-seeking, pride, or mistrust - all producing a harvest, but not always a good one that is 'unmixed' with the tares of this world. God's Word isn't to be trifled with - it is the source of much life and goodness. Take it in - trust it to accomplish its work. That work may be correction - reminding us of choices that have not been all that wise. It may be confirmation - allowing us to feel at peace with decisions we are about to make. How is that? The Word of God is purposeful - it is focused on the harvest that is about to be produced by being introduced to the soil of our hearts and minds. A ready heart and an open mind go a long way in providing soil that is fertile for fruitful growth. Just sayin!