SOWING AND REAPING

Time with Jesus - 17 Nov 2013

Hi all,

I’ve never been much of a farmer or a gardener. It’s not an area in which I’ve had much experience or ambition. Like most people, I love the sight of a well-kept lawn along with flowers, trees, vegetables, hedges and beautiful borders. What I’ve always found daunting is the effort required to keep it in the same condition. 

One or two friends have the type of gardens just described. They love pottering in the garden and have a great reward for their efforts. I’d even go so far as to admit a tinge of envy, if you’ll forgive my honesty. However, for me, when the Lord told Adam that he would spend the rest of his life fighting with thorn and thistles, I made a decision not to do anything which might in any way interfere with His words. If in this world, thorns and thistles are destined to win, who am I to resist them? Thus, as long as there are no carnivorous plants “stalking” me or the family, I’m content to let sleeping dogs lie. 

However, in order to heed the family’s desire for the aesthetics of the garden and grounds, our “handyman” keeps everything in the garden “shipshape and Bristol fashion”. He is also a good painter and a whizz at cleaning motor cars. It’s a wonderful symbiotic relationship. We take care of him and, to some extent, his family financially. In return he takes care of our garden, swimming pool, house painting and cleaning of the family’s cars.

Phyllida is the inspiration behind what takes place in the garden. She can tell the difference between a cyclamen and a sick lemon. (It’s not just the spelling) I keep asking, “What’s a “boug”?” I understand it grows well will a “villia”, apparently another species of plant. Something like Jack and Jill, it seems.

Apart from the hard work aspect, one of the very few things I know about gardens and gardening is that apart from weeds, thorns and thistles, you’ve got to plant the right thing at the right time. 

It was a lesson learned in Canada. Back then I was living in what is called the “banana belt” in Ontario. Much to my amazement, Ontario is a very fertile part of Canada. It was bitterly cold in winter. The temperatures were well below freezing for three or four months on end. There would be no clouds in the sky and the sun would be shining brightly. But step outside and it was bitterly cold. To get the car engine running in the morning, there was a type of immersion heater in the sump. We plugged it into an electrical socket on the outside wall for overnight. Snow tyres in winter were an option, although everyone used them. 

The worst time of the year was when the winter thaw began. On some nights it would still freeze although during the day the temperature was warmish. That’s when I had a problem with my starter motor. It got water into it. Overnight the water froze and the engine wouldn’t start. In the end I used a catalytic heater to warm the starter motor in the morning.  

Southern Ontario is on the banks of Lake Erie, a freshwater lake, although it was quite polluted in the 1970’s. Actually, the region didn’t have much problem with water. So in the short summer, the area was very warm. The water gave rise to humidity and the Canadians would talk about the “Humidex” temperature; the way you would feel outside. I suppose it was a bit like Durban with the humidity making it feel hotter than it really was.

The farmers grew a variety of crops. One was corn – we call them “mealies”. There was also strawberries, peaches, oranges, apples and a vegetables. Tobacco was the chief crop of the area. What has happened in the last 40 years I’m not sure. The demand for tobacco is not what it once was! Incidentally, the farmers knew how many days they had to sow and reap the crop. It was worked out to the number of “days available” to obtain a harvest. So if spring was late, the farmers had to work quickly to get a crop before the cold weather ended the growing season.

I wasn’t in Canada very long before I realised, what was true in agriculture, was true in ordinary life. A good example is school results. As I child I’d found that if you wanted to pass the examinations at the end of the year, it was necessary to study what was being learned. If you didn’t study, the chances of passing were greatly reduced. In other words, like the Ontario farmer, you reaped what you sowed. As I grew older I observed that the same thing was true in every field of endeavour. To excel at anything required time and effort. The man with the bulging biceps was not born that way. Sure, he may have been born with a skeletal structure best equipped to be a body builder. But to become a body builder, you have to build your body! As they say today, “No pain, no gain!” 

Furthermore, if you had a vision to be an Olympic Athlete, you would have to devote many years of your life to achieve the required degree of excellence. This really came home to me when, after the Sydney Olympics, there was a programme on TV showing the little girls training for the Olympics, 8 years hence. They wanted to be Olympic gymnasts. I’ve sometime wonder how many of them “made it”?

Now here’s the point. Sowing and reaping is a spiritual principle. To have a relationship with Jesus Christ takes time and effort, particularly at the beginning. The author of Hebrews tells us; ⁶ No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 GW 

Notice that God does not reward casual enquirers. It takes time and effort. That’s the way it is. Get used to it. You and I must decide to pursue God with the same determination as an Olympic athlete. Then He will reward you with knowledge of Himself and His presence. When you get into doing it, you will find that He was always there, waiting for you! That’s when you will do triple back-flips with the joy of knowing Him. Better than any Olympic gymnast!

Shalom

Jim & Phyllida Strickland

Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give		Time with Jesus – 17 Nov 2013			Matt 10:8 Freely you received, Freely give
©	These devotionals are the intellectual property of Jim Strickland and copyright protected. You are welcome to copy and distribute them to anyone provided it is for non-commercial Christian purposes					©
INTRODUCTION			DAILY LIGHT EVENING SCRIPTURES	SOWING AND REAPING
No pain, no gain! This is true for all of us in every situation imaginable! We don’t always like it. But it works this way regardless of our opinion. I remember starting piano lessons at the age of 9. I was told then that unless I practised, nothing would come of it. For whatever reason, I didn’t practise. So nothing came of the piano lessons. There was nobody to blame but me. It’s not so bad when you are only nine. But sadly, the principle is true for everyone regardless of age. A day or so ago, I mentioned the word “average”. School children seem to thrive on being “average”. We were warned that to pass the exam at the end of the year would take dedication and hard work. One or two listened. They did exceptionally well. They put in lots of time preparing for the exam. They ended up at the top of the class. The lazier ones didn’t put in the required work. So we scraped through. My report always had the remarks on it, “Jim could do better!” But schooldays don’t exactly inspire you to be what we call a “nerd” today! There was a facetious remark in this connection. A remark many of us “bought into”. The remark was. If the pass-mark is 40% and you get a 50% result, it represents 10% wasted effort! In a perverted way, the statement contains some truth. Until I realised the long term implications. I said to myself, “If the pass mark for a medical doctor was 40%, how would I like to be treated by that doctor?” I didn’t like it. I wanted a doctor with 90% plus. But bad habits are hard to break so I spent most of my school days getting just enough to pass somehow or other. What I hadn’t realised was that sowing and reaping is a spiritual law. It’s going to work for you whether you believe it or not. For instance if I don’t believe in the law of gravity and step off the roof, I will fall. One thing is certain. When I hit the ground, if I survive, I will immediately believe in the law of gravity! Spiritual laws are a bit like that. They work for or against you whether you believe them or not. You will always reap what you sow. If I plant tomatoes, I’ll get tomatoes and not beans. I can look at the beans as much as I like and “will them” to be tomatoes. It won’t work. Tomato seeds bring forth tomatoes. Corn pips bring forth corn! Angus Buchan planted potatoes. In spite of all the negative weather conditions, he got a crop of potatoes. “Faith Like Potatoes” he called the movie. It wasn’t “Faith like Onions”. You get what you plant. If you choose to be with bad people you will be in trouble. Don’t tell the judge “I got into bad company!” Not True. You did it. You chose bad friends! There is only one way to pray in such circumstances. See the mistake you have made and pray for a crop failure. It might work. The Lord just might have mercy on you. Otherwise you’re stuck with your crop. Jim & Phyllida Strickland.			7 Don't be misled--you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 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. 9 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. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone--especially to those in the family of faith. Galatians 6:7-10 NLT	We never really understood the many things he did. He had a strange perversion for anybody’s kid. He wouldn’t wash his body and so he used to smell. Give him soap and water and he would start to yell! His siblings kept avoiding him. They talked behind his back. “You’d better get this sorted out, or I’ll give you a smack” Is what his father told him. He didn’t seem to care. And didn’t mind the comments, he heard most everywhere. We thought as he grew older that he was sure to change. And when he came to puberty we saw him acting strange. He took a secret fancy to the girl across the street. He thought her very pretty and somehow rather sweet. But when he tried to meet with her, he got a cold rebuff. She wrinkled up her nose at him and said, “That’s close enough. I’m sorry, this may hurt you, but here’s what I must tell. If you want a date with me, you’d better fix your smell!” You’d think he’d learn a lesson, for every girl he met, Kept him at a distance. As far as they could get, To avoid the odour that he would emanate. That is when he realised, he’d never get a date, With any of the ladies! He’d reaped what he had sown, And if he didn’t wash himself, he’d be all on his own! That’s when he started thinking, he’d have to change his ways, Or he would be “hermit” for his remaining days. When he got home that evening, he realised he knew, Exactly what was needed, to change the ladies view. He went and bought deodorant, a shampoo and some soap. “I know I’ve got to do this. I’ve really been a dope.” And so he fixed the problem. At last the smell was gone. No longer could folk say of him, “There goes the stinky one”. He spruced up his appearance and he looked rather neat. And soon the ladies said of him, “That guy looks very sweet. If he will invite me, to go out for a date, I think I’d rather like it. In fact, I cannot wait.” He reaped what he was sowing. And it’s still true today. The harvest you are reaping depends in every way, Upon what you have planted. And that is what you’ll see. There is no variation. It has God’s guarantee. Jim Strickland Written 17th November 2012
			8 Here's what I've observed. People gather a crop from what they plant. If they plant evil and trouble, that's what they will harvest. Job 4:8 NIrV
			7 "They have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind. The stalks of grain wither and produce nothing to eat. And even if there is any grain, foreigners will eat it. Hosea 8:7 NLT
			18 Those who do what is wrong really earn nothing. But those who plant what is right will certainly be rewarded. Proverbs 11:18 NIrV
			24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. 25 Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:24-25 ESV
			6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6 ESV