Harvest
I like to go running. I don’t do events, as for me it’s about my ‘wellbeing’. I run alone, reflecting, meditating, praying, whilst taking in lots of fresh air and the stunning local countryside.
Over the last few weeks, I have noticed that the farmers have been out harvesting the fields. Where there once stood acres of crops, the fields are now clear, the soil turned, waiting for whatever is to be planted next.
I don’t know much about modern farming techniques, but year after year I have observed what goes on in the fields as I jog by: the ground is prepared, the seed is planted, it grows, then it’s harvested.
This process takes place globally and has done so since the creation of the world - how amazing is that! This reminded me of a bit in one of the New Testament letters in the Bible...
“What a person plants, he will harvest. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others - ignoring God! - harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is 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.”
The writer, Paul, says that what we ‘sow’ we will ‘reap’. In other words, whatever we give ourselves to, it will eventually dominate our lives.
For example, if we spend our time always doing things just for ourselves, with ‘me’ at the centre, we will become a selfish person. Not nice.
However, if we invest in looking out for others, doing good when we can, the result is we become a far better person.
Paul tells his readers to ‘sow’ into their relationship with God. By doing this, we become the people God wants us to be, which is good both now and eternally!
In my experience, I have found that the more I ‘press into God’, the more my behaviour, attitude an outlook have changed to be in-line with God’s ways!
So, let me encourage you to consider, where are you sowing?
God bless
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader