The Harvest is Coming

Let us not grow weary

Photo by Vince Veras on Unsplash

This time of year is always a challenge for me. Maybe you can relate. We are past the excitement of Christmas but spring still seems so far away. Here in Michigan, where it has been in the single digits or even negative temperatures for weeks, it is tempting to believe spring may never arrive. These months are cold. And so gray.

Add to this the constant unrest of the news cycle, sickness, and just a general sense of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

One of my pastors summed it up well last week. Weary. The feeling of grinding down until there is nothing left. Exhaustion to the point of wondering how to endure. It seems like one of the first things to suffer when becoming weary is our outlook toward others. The other day I was driving through a snow-packed parking lot at maybe 5 miles per hour. I slowed to let a pickup truck go in front. He gave me the middle finger (I still don’t know why). I immediately thought about how I might call down fire from heaven. Instead, I stopped with my kids to get donuts. A win for us all. But I thought way too much about that moment.

There are times when you try to do the right thing…to see the best in other people, believing they will do the same for you. To follow Jesus, even on gray days. To make the next right choice. To be faithful.

But if we’re honest, there are times we start to wonder if it’s worth it. The weariness grows into a voice speaking against the good we know to do. Doing what is right just feels like hard work. Faithfulness can feel awfully lonely.

In Galatians, Paul writes the following—

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. (Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭7‬-‭10‬)

Paul uses harvest imagery of sowing and reaping. There are those who choose evil and “sow to please the flesh.” The harvest it yields is bitter fruit that leads to destruction. But those who sow what is from the Spirit, the good we do toward God and others (obedience), it actually means something. It is headed somewhere. It is not empty or in vain, but rather is like a seed in the ground that God will use to grow something that lasts.

With this in mind, here are two encouragements for those who are weary right now.

First, every small decision to do good may not be so small at all.

When you place a seed in the ground, it is hard to imagine much coming from it. It is only at the harvest when you can see the fruit. The sowing was not in vain. In God’s kingdom, we trust the farmer can use it all to grow something beautiful and lasting. Every good deed is a seed. Nothing is lost. God can use it all.¹

Second, God sees you.

As basic as this may sound, it doesn’t make it any less true. Jesus seemed to believe this in the sermon on the mount. When talking about how to practice acts of righteousness, three times Jesus makes this statement- Your Heavenly Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. There is nothing hidden from the Lord’s sight, including the good we choose to do. Choosing to do good even when we have become weary is a decision to plant fruit for the harvest.

Several years ago, the Washington Post conducted a social experiment. In Washington D.C.’s Metro Station, a violinist played six pieces of Bach for about forty-five minutes. This occurred during rush hour. Thousands of people passed by, while the occasional onlooker would stop. Over the course of forty-five minutes, the violinist made $32. No crowd. No applause.

Who was this violinist? His name is Joshua Bell. Earlier in the week, he had sold out the Boston theater with an average ticket price of $100. He was playing some of the most technically detailed music ever written for a violin. And the violin he was playing? It was only $3.5 million dollars. He was giving the gift of an incredibly beautiful tune from an almost priceless instrument, and it didn’t seem to matter one bit.

It is possible to do good, over the course of a long period of time, and have nobody notice. No crowd. No applause. You can serve others without appreciation. You can do good for others and it seems completely neglected. However, the good we do isn’t any less good just because it goes unnoticed. The Lord sees what is done in secret. He hears the beautiful tune long before others, and to him, it sounds like worship.

Every good deed is a seed. So, let us not grow weary. A harvest is coming, friends.

1. I love these words from Cornelius Plantinga Jr.: “What we do now in the name of Christ…shall be preserved across into the next life. All of it counts, all of it lasts, none of it is wasted or lost.”