Reaping and Sowing

The congregations of the triple parish I've been playing for on Saturday evenings sent me home tonight with a DVD of their Pastor's farewell service (I have played there for a few years, and I didn't get to go to his final service, and I wanted to see it).

The readings for this weekend are all about seeds and planting (at least they are in the LCMS churches). 

The farewell service was a few months ago, but I listened to the DVD tonight, and this line struck me:

"If you want the very best results at harvest, you have to have the best seed in the ground at planting time."

God plants His Words in our hearts, and we sow it into the hearts of others by our words, deeds, and actions.

God gave us His Word as a gift- and it does not return to Him empty- it fulfills His purpose- to comfort us in our times of sorrow, to give us hope, to point us toward the future with Him.

God's Word gives us that amazing threefold truth:

Christ has died. Christ lives. Christ will come again.

Shouldn't that be the central focus of every seed we plant? Every action we do? What would the harvest look like if that was our seed?

It reminds me of this which I saw in an e-mail a while back:

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation

* If you plant faith in God , you will reap a harvest

So, be careful what you plant now,
it will determine what you will reap later.

A man reaps what he sows, the Epistle lesson taught us tonight.

What are you sowing? And what are you noticing you are reaping?

I'm sowing seeds of joy. And my joy is multiplying. I'm reaping a harvest of not only happiness within myself, but happiness within the hearts of others as a result.

What kind of a seed are you planting? And what are you reaping on account of it?

Plat the best seed, and you'll get the best harvest.