Farming is easy. Plant what you want to reap. Of course you and I know that farming is really NOT easy at all! Planting requires preparation, and there’s still a ton of work before you can reap. And that applies to a lot more than dirt.
Before we dig into the dirt and today’s lesson, welcome to “Mornings with Bishop Robert” — thanks for joining me on the top spot on the internet for coffee with a cleric. My goal is to introduce people to the Jesus they never knew, and help them get to know Him and His word personally – and better ! If our time together today speaks to your heart, then let me invite you to like, subscribe and share it with a friend! Join our email list to get a free copy of my book COUNT TO ONE, get Mornings with Bishop Robert sent directly to your inbox each morning, and lots of other great benefits. Click the link in the description.
What would you think of a farmer who said, “I’m not going to plant any corn kernels this year. When God gives me some corn, then I’ll take some and plant more.” He can go every day to his field checking it for corn. He can even ask, “Hey God, where’s my corn?” That guy’s never going to get any corn, because that’s not how it works. Sowing comes first, then you reap – this is the most basic of principles. And sowing always costs you something.
Here’s another principle — Don’t plant corn and expect apples. Or plant yams and expect cotton. You always reap what you plant.
Today’s verse says THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT IS LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS AND SELF-CONTROL.
Faith is like farming. You will always harvest what you plant. The person who plants selfishness, ignoring the needs of others—ignoring God!—harvests a crop of weeds. All he’ll have to show for his life is weeds! But the one who plants in response to God, letting God’s Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.
You always harvest what you plant. Always. So what can you plant if you want to harvest the Fruit of the Spirit in your life?
Let me suggest that you begin by planting three rows of squash: 1. Squash gossip; 2. Squash criticism; 3. Squash indifference
You’re also going to want to plant three rows of peas: 1. Purity; 2. Patience; 3. Perseverance
Finally, you ought to plant six rows of lettuce: 1. Let us be unselfish and generous; 2. Let us be loyal and faithful to duty; 3. Let us search the scriptures; 4. Let us not be weary in well-doing; 5. Let us be obedient in all things; and finally and most important, 6. Let us love one another.
And, by the way, you always harvest MORE than you planted if you’ve planted in good soil. I remember some time ago when our family was planting our garden. We had prepared corn rows, and dropped two or three kernels of corn together into the soil every couple of feet. Over the next months we gathered hundreds and hundreds of ears of corn. You always harvest WHAT you plant; and you always harvest MORE than you planted. The Apostle Paul reinforces this principle when he reminds us that he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, but he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
So, look at your life. Does it have a solid “crop” of faith, peace, and joy? Are you gathering an abundant harvest of love, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control? These are the Fruit of the Spirit. Yielding your will to Him and obeying His word is planting the seeds of faith in your life. You really DO want to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ. Because the one who sows to their own flesh will reap corruption and pain, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
Are you harvesting the Fruit of the Spirit in your life? If not, then the question is a simple one. What did you plant?
The lesson is clear. Plant what you want to harvest. Because in farming and in life – you always harvest what you plant.
Always.
