“The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News,

and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”  

Matthew 13:23

 Gardening season is upon us here in the Pacific Northwest. Neighbors are out working up their soil and planting seedlings. I am not falling for it this year. I don’t have a green thumb but I have tried almost every year. I think I will learn from my mistakes. This year I will do better. Only to discover that I am really good at starting things and pretty bad at seeing things through to completion. I imagine the harvest – the juicy ripe tomatoes, the cucumbers turned pickles, the fresh strawberries. Problem is that between the planting of the seed and the harvesting of the seed, there is a season that I call work. There’s pruning, weeding, watering, fertilizing, pest control, etc…  and in the heat of the summer, egads, I would rather be at the river. This year, I am not kidding myself.  I will leave that gardening to others. I have discovered a garden I would rather put my interest and time into.

God’s word is likened to a seed. A seed that needs to be planted, weeded, and watered to grow and produce the harvest in our lives that make our lives meaningful. Whatever laws we may be able to skirt around, we can’t skirt around the law of seed-time and harvest time. The problem comes when we fail to realize that between those two times, there is a season that is easy to overlook. The season of weeding and pruning and watering. I can’t read the Bible once and put it back on the shelf like I can other books and simply move on to the next book and have the seeds that were planted while reading it come to harvest. I water these seeds by the daily reading of the Bible.

I can purpose now to water the seed of God’s word in my life daily but daily I have to make the decision all over again to do just that.

A decision that is simple to make but simple also to not make.

I know because I have been guilty of not making that decision numerous times. Then I wonder why peace and joy seem so difficult to find. If I want the harvest that comes from the seed of God’s word, I have to tend to it. It’s that simple. That means I may have to turn off my phone or computer or tv for a little bit. I may have to say no to some things in order to say yes to this thing.

 I think it comes down to this: what kind of harvest do I really want in my life?

Father, forgive me for neglecting Your word. I desire to know You more but I can get distracted so easily.  Help me to put You first, help me to build that habit one day at a time.  Show me the barriers I have put up that keep me from fellowship with You through Your word.  In Jesus’s name, amen. 

I would love to hear from you. Please let me know if I can be praying for you as well.

pic credit: housebeautiful.com

pic credit: alamy.com