Planting

 March 11, 2021

Sometimes the obvious eludes us. How many times I’ve read or quoted the Scripture, “Whatever a man sows, that shall he also reap” (Galatians6:7) I cannot recall, but it took someone else’s experience and  perspective to open my eyes to a simple three-fold truth that’s worth remembering.

First, we reap what we sow. If we plant tomatoes, we won’t get carrots. If we sow words of criticism, bitterness, and anger, we’re unlikely to reap kindness and peace. It amazes me how people expect to reap justice after they’ve sown hatred and violence. If I want prosperity, I cannot sow laziness coupled with prodigal spending. If I want a peaceful home, I must plant seeds of grace, understanding, and forgiveness.

Second, we reap after we sow. Too often, when we hear how important it is to take a certain action, we do so and expect immediate results. A man whose marriage is on shaky ground learns what it means to honor his wife. After years of neglect, he brings her flowers, does the dishes, forgoes football to watch Hallmark with her, and even speaks words of support and tenderness where before there was yelling and profanity. To his surprise, she responds with suspicion and caution. He doesn’t understand—after all, he was doing what the counselor said he must do.  

He was expecting to reap a harvest on the same day he began planting the seeds. It doesn’t work that way, any more than getting mad at God because he didn’t answer my prayer the moment I rose from my knees. Some seeds take a long time to germinate, and even longer to mature. The old saying is true; God can grow a cabbage in a few months, but it takes a lifetime to grow an oak.

Third, we reap more than we sow. This is the good part. No less a personage than Jesus himself told us that good seed can yield a hundredfold. Linda and I have been married for more than fifty years. A couple weeks ago, a younger man told me that people were watching us. They noticed how we hold hands, how we treat each other, the kind of words we speak to each other. I was surprised by his comment and somewhat taken aback. It never occurred to me that younger couples were taking notes. Marriage is hard work, but not nearly as hard as divorce. We are reaping far more than we sowed, both in our own relationship, and in that of our children and others who are scrutinizing us. For their sakes, I hope there aren’t too many weeds among  those seeds we planted. For us, some of the seeds we sowed at the beginning  sprouted and have fed us. Others took longer to mature, and some are still growing. We’ve worked hard to plant only good seed, worked even harder to weed out the bad, and are already reaping a bountiful harvest that will continue to bless us (and hopefully others) until one lays the other into the arms of God.