Sow… and never reap?
Imagine… you work hard every day… for a good cause…. And sometimes you feel like it doesn’t work…. Nothing seems to work. That’s pretty frustrating. We know the feeling.
Let’s give you some encouragement…. and compare it to a farmer…
The time when farming was only carried out by “one farmer” is long gone. Now if you go to a farm, you will see that there are companies that specialize in fertilization, another company in sowing, another company in specialized in harvesting, and another one is good at digging or soil removal. And those companies also need investors, an accountant, a car mechanic, an IT employee and on and on…
And only when all those specializations come together… is there a harvest. Every company with its own specializations. Every person with his/her knowledge and skills and… sweat….and sometimes tears.
Has farming become easier with all those specializations? No, it’s still hard work. Does the farmer always like it? No. And maybe you work for a “sowing company”…. and you will never, ever see a harvest….
Then think about this: if you(!) don’t sow…the other can’t reap. If you don’t “stand in manure with your rubber boots”, that harvest will never come. If you don’t invest in the farm, the farmer can’t buy diesel and that tractor will never drive again…
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.
James 5:7-8
And maybe you have contact with a “farmer” and you sometimes wonder: I never hear anything about a harvest?! Perhaps I should invest in another farmer? Is the farmer doing a good job when i never see a harvest?? Shouldn’t the farmer search for another job?
Consider this: Perhaps that farmer is a professional sower… and another farmer is a professional reaper. But only if they work together there will ever be a harvest. And if the “sower” farmer has no money left for seeds…. Then the rest can still work so hard… but there will never be a harvest.
And maybe you are reading this and thinking…. What am I actually doing? Sow, reap, shovel, invest, sweat, do I fertilize? What am I doing at all? If any?
Then today might be the day to do something. Get up from your seat, pick up a little piece of that farming. Because only together… there will be a harvest. And you, too, are needed, much needed.
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
Still, other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Matthew 13
We work on with refugees, expats, homeless people, alcoholics… and that’s a LOT of sowing.. (and shovelling manure) and not all that seed comes to fruition… but NEVER give up! Still, other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
So are you “sower farmer”? Or maybe you feel like “a shovelling manure farmers”…. Thank you for all your work. What a job… and how glad we are that you are sowing… for God’s glory. Because without you…. and without investors in the “sowing business”… there will be no harvest.
We are grateful for all your work, we are VERY happy with it. Whatever you do. For His glory, to make the world, which is really rotten, a little more beautiful.
