My in-law’s house has four raised garden boxes in their back yard. When they moved in a few months ago, they decided to plant some vegetables in those garden boxes. My mother-in-law planted tomatoes, okra, and watermelon. Later, we saw what looked to be two small corn stalks by the back patio, so I dug them up and planted them in the garden. Not everything came up, and so there were some bare spaces in the garden.
This past Wednesday, my in-laws needed to go to Georgia for a two-day meeting, so Becky and I decided to go and buy a few more plants to put in the garden. We bought some squash, lettuce, yellow pepper, sweet potato, and a packet of corn seeds since there were two small, lone stalks.
As my wife was planting the corn seeds, I noticed on the seed packet that it read, “Days to Harvest 88.” I thought, “Really? Eighty-eight days? I won’t even be here.” I leave for Brazil in 46 days for our fifth term of missionary service, so someone else will be eating and enjoying those sweet, tender, hot-buttered, succulent corn-on-the-cob, and WE planted them!
And then it hit me: that’s the way it is sometimes regarding the spiritual harvest. As Christians, we should be sowing the Seed of the Gospel, because you never know who will come after you to be able to “reap the harvest.” It’s not important who reaps the harvest, but the one who plants the Seed is crucial. If no Seed is planted, no fruit will be harvested. If you sow little, a small crop will be harvested. But if much Seed is planted, the crop will be greater.
Although I said that it’s not important “who” reaps the harvest, it is important that someone reaps it! The sower may not even know the reaper, but both are necessary for the harvest to be gathered. If there’s no sowing, there will be no harvest. If there are no harvesters, the fruit will fall to destruction.
Jesus told His disciples some 2,000 years ago that the fields are white already to harvest (v. 35). I won’t be here in 88 days to harvest corn, but it would be sad if no one went to harvest and eat the corn.
Christian friend, be faithful to plant the Seed, and keep your eyes open for “fruit” that is ready to be harvested.