Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
Galatians 6:9 " And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Dear Jesus,
Your parable of sowing and reaping challenges me to invest in eternity. You challenge me to enduring service, even in the face of obstacles, adversities, and reverses.
Dr. Barclay wrote: "We live in an age which looks for quick results, but in the sowing of the seed we must sow in patience and sow in hope, and sometimes we must leave the harvest to the years." (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, pp. 70-71).
Telemachus, a Christian monk, sensed Your call to Rome to minister to a broken Roman civilization. Rome had experienced some Christian conversion, but was still caught in the grasp of sensuality and the games. In the fifth century, Telemachus attended a gladiatorial event where he witnessed the slaughter of humanity. Overcome with the loss of human life, the holy man leapt from the seats of the arena to the field. He placed himself between the combatants. A swift slice of a gladiatorial sword spilled the mortally wounded monk's blood on the sand of the arena. The crowd grew silent, and the games came to a cataclysmic halt.
Sowing and reaping. The seed of Your Gospel had been sown for four decades across the Roman world. Faithful sowing reaped an eventual harvest that was demonstrated in radical cultural change.
Often, Your truth and goodness take time to germinate. Faithful sowing, cultivation, and spiritual care of the riches of Your message bring change to people, communities, culture, and entire civilizations.
I confess that my timetable is now. My impatience short circuits my ability to wait on Your timing. I am sorry. I find myself fainting while attempting to wait for the harvest. I confess that my impatience is often without faith. When You don't act on my timetable, I panic. I default on trust and consecration to You. I then behave with disjointed, panicked, directionless jerking about for some new initiative to fix my problems. Teach me the timeless patience of trusting You. Empower me to hold a steady course.
I surrender afresh to Your timing. Help me not to panic when those about me are flailing and floundering for life. May the poet's words be Your Words to my heart:
Galatians 6:9 " And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart."
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
Dear Jesus,
Your parable of sowing and reaping challenges me to invest in eternity. You challenge me to enduring service, even in the face of obstacles, adversities, and reverses.
Dr. Barclay wrote: "We live in an age which looks for quick results, but in the sowing of the seed we must sow in patience and sow in hope, and sometimes we must leave the harvest to the years." (William Barclay in The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, pp. 70-71).
Telemachus, a Christian monk, sensed Your call to Rome to minister to a broken Roman civilization. Rome had experienced some Christian conversion, but was still caught in the grasp of sensuality and the games. In the fifth century, Telemachus attended a gladiatorial event where he witnessed the slaughter of humanity. Overcome with the loss of human life, the holy man leapt from the seats of the arena to the field. He placed himself between the combatants. A swift slice of a gladiatorial sword spilled the mortally wounded monk's blood on the sand of the arena. The crowd grew silent, and the games came to a cataclysmic halt.
Sowing and reaping. The seed of Your Gospel had been sown for four decades across the Roman world. Faithful sowing reaped an eventual harvest that was demonstrated in radical cultural change.
Often, Your truth and goodness take time to germinate. Faithful sowing, cultivation, and spiritual care of the riches of Your message bring change to people, communities, culture, and entire civilizations.
I confess that my timetable is now. My impatience short circuits my ability to wait on Your timing. I am sorry. I find myself fainting while attempting to wait for the harvest. I confess that my impatience is often without faith. When You don't act on my timetable, I panic. I default on trust and consecration to You. I then behave with disjointed, panicked, directionless jerking about for some new initiative to fix my problems. Teach me the timeless patience of trusting You. Empower me to hold a steady course.
I surrender afresh to Your timing. Help me not to panic when those about me are flailing and floundering for life. May the poet's words be Your Words to my heart:
IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise...
... If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise...
... If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!
(Kipling--IF)
In the Name of my ever-living Lord Jesus Christ who grows each seed,
Amen
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