Seeds Without a Harvest
From the 9/28/16 Weekly Update by Tim Keller
There have been times in my life where I labored to plant the good seed of God’s Word in the lives of people. For those who are fond of planting and caring for vegetable gardens you are no doubt aware that the process of preparing the soil, putting the seeds in the ground, watering the plants and keeping them free from weeds is a cumbersome, although enjoyable, task.
Imagine doing all the work and then discovering the fruit of your labors has not arrived. Would you not reflect on the blood, sweat and aching bones you had experienced in the process of planting your garden? Would you feel disappointment? Discouragement? Despair?
There are seasons of ministry when the cost of planting spiritual seeds can feel immense. The labor intensive actions required have not been offset by the enjoyment of sinking your teeth into a juicy tomato or tasting the sweetness of fresh corn on the cob. All you sense is the effort and the harvest seems to have eluded you.
Faith is one of the essential aspects of serving God in this lost and broken world; and nowhere is faith in God’s sovereignty tested more than when you have poured seeds into the soil of another person’s life and waited for a harvest that didn’t arrive.
That’s why the promise of a harvest contained in Galatians 6:9 is so central to the theology of the servant of God. The reality of the seeds planted in another’s life becoming a harvest is solidly embedded in the character of a holy God.
The hours spent sipping many coffees, preaching many sermons, listening intently in many counseling sessions, teaching many children’s Sunday School classes and spending hours in prayer on behalf of others will not fail to yield a harvest.
God has promised it and that means it will happen. He doesn’t dictate when it will happen or what it will look like when it occurs, but He promises that our efforts in ministry will not be in vain.
When your tired muscles and aching heart are telling you a different story, one that sounds like you’ve failed and not made a difference, the knowledge of God’s promise will drive you to persevere and not give up.
The turning point becomes whether or not you truly believe that God’s promise is true. Believing His promises will spur you on to keep planting, whether you see any fruit or not.
