There is a story about a mother and her young daughter planting a garden. The mother has spent all winter meticulously planning her garden, with the aspiration that it will be the talk of the town. She has designed intricate patterns and shapes, laying out her plans for each seed in blueprints that would be the envy of any architect or engineer. Her and her daughter meticulously plant each specific seed in its pre-planned place, as one misplaced seed could ruin months of planning. While planting, the mother receives a phone call, thereby ceding the planting responsibilities to her daughter. While gone, the daughter painstakingly plants each seed according to her mother’s blueprint. She becomes so focused on her work that she accidentally spills the basket of meticulously organized seeds onto the ground, inadvertently undoing months of planning. Wanting to avoid trouble, the daughter covers up all the seeds with the ground and heads inside. Her mother is so impressed by her quick work that she rewards her with a trip for ice cream! The daughter believes she has gotten away with something…until a few months later when the flowers bloom in a chaotic order bearing no resemblance to her mother’s intricate plans. The moral of the story? You reap what you sow!
I share this story to set-up today’s Scripture:
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:7-9“ https://www.bible.com/59/gal.6.7-9.esv
One thing I’ve appreciated about Mike and the Vital team is that they promote an environment where it’s ok to be blunt and lovingly speak God’s Truth. In that tradition, allow me to be blunt, loving, and truthful. Far too often we men are planting the wrong seeds with our actions. We do this when we snap at our spouses, let loose some road rage, act selfishly, fail to forgive others, etc. I think we believe that we can get away with sowing these bad seeds. Everyone makes mistakes, right? Yet, like the above story, our bad seeds end up growing. They sprout when our kids pick-up our bad habits. They grow when our angry words cause others pain. They flourish when non-Christians see our contradictory behaviors and deem us hypocrites.
On the flip side, we fail to plant anywhere near enough good seeds. We fail to regularly share the gospel, help others in need, model Christ-like behavior, give and serve sacrificially, etc. We figure, what’s the point? What difference can my smile, my one hour teaching Sunday School, or my ten dollars in the offering plate really make? The answer is that, with God’s help, our little seeds can do a lot. This week, I urge you to think about the seeds your actions are planting, and to stop planting the wrong ones and continually plant the right ones.
