Do We Really Harvest What We Sow?

It’s fall, and that’s got me thinking about harvests. “You reap what you sow” says the apostle Paul. It’s true - you can’t plant parsley seeds and expect pumpkins to come up in your garden. And yet, sometimes that happens. Last year’s pumpkins can leave behind seeds that grow this year. You don’t always get what you pay for, you get more down the line. Good done long ago can bring us good now. Yet even more surprising, sometimes you plant parsley and a volunteer maple tree comes up. Or a big pile of weeds. Life is like that. God is involved in our lives, and so are a lot of other people, and that affects the harvest. Often we harvest exactly what we planted, the good and the bad. And yet, sometimes life takes us by surprise. Our kids turn out way nicer than we deserve for our imperfect parenting. Or way more troubled that we would have expected from our pretty decent parenting. If all we expect from life is direct results from our actions, we’re in for a wild ride. But if we plant good things simply because it’s good to plant them and make them grow as best as we're able, then we can be thankful for the good surprises and not knocked over by the bad ones. Jesus says to just keep planting good seed, and let God sort it all out in the end. That’s not easy, but it does bring joy and peace.

“And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10). See Matthew 13:24-30.