A Good Harvest

The way we treat others is the way we will be treated. The way we give is the way we will receive.  The way we forgive is the way we will be forgiven.  The Bible is full of these truths that remind us that what we do today will influence our tomorrow. 

But, have you ever stopped to think that the seed you plant looks nothing like the fruit you harvest?

  
             It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” 

                              Mark 4:31, 32 NKJV

When a seed is planted in the ground, the soil puts pressure on the shell to crack it open so the plant can grow. The size of the seed does not determine the size of the fruit.

One appleseed does not produce one apple and one apple does not give you one seed. When you plant an appleseed, you get a tree and from the tree you get hundreds of apples and each apple has several seeds. The harvest is way bigger than the one seed that was planted.

This is how things grow in the Kingdom of God too.  

Our small seeds of faith, planted in our hearts and watered by the Word of God will produce all the fruits of the Holy Spirit. 

               But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

                              Galatians 5:22, 23 NKJV

Our acceptance of the Holy Spirit is the way we plants these seeds in our hearts.  By faith, we believe that not only are they in us but as we grow and mature in Christ, they also grow and produce fruit that others may see and benefit from.

This concept is best demonstrated in a simple math equation:

         SEED     +   _______ TIME________        =     HARVEST

Life has a way of throwing us a bunch of fertilizer to help our garden grow.  How we respond to things will affect the growth of our seeds.  Our diligence to stay focused on the Word will affect the health of our fruit.  And our connection to the Holy Spirit will determine the quantity of our harvest.  

We have an active role to play in the growth of the fruit of the Holy Spirit within us.  God will help us along the way but we still have to do things when we don't feel like it, keep our word in all situations, and pursue the ways of God so we can unlearn the ways of the world.

The seeds of the Holy Spirit that we plant by faith will undergo pressure from the world before they manifest in our lives.  Don't quit before you get your harvest.  Keep watering your garden (your life) with the Word of God and in due season, you will reap the harvest (Gal. 6:9).

A lot of growth within us has to occur before it is seen on the outside.

You have been guaranteed a great harvest if you do not quit.
Heidirn