Springtime is planting time. It is a time of great promise and anticipation of all that might be produced with our summer labours.
There is, however, no way to guarantee the results. Too many things are outside of our control. Too many things might go wrong. Even so, we would never plant a seed if we were not looking forward to the harvest, and if we did not expect that our hard work might produce something worthwhile.
Every seed we plant in the earth is an act of faith and hope. We trust and hope that the summer months will bring sunny days and showers of rain when needed, and that our labours will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest. But faith and hope require patience. No farmer expects to harvest a crop in the spring. Time is needed for roots to grow down and for stocks to shoot up. Even when the first signs of growth have appeared, still more waiting is required as plants grow and mature. Only weeds spring up overnight. Fruit and grain takes time.
Much of life is planting and waiting. We sow good deeds and faithfully plant our acts of love and kindness. We hope and trust that the world will be a nicer place and that lives will be changed for the better when we give and serve and sacrifice to help others. But like crops and gardens, time is often required for good deeds to produce a harvest. People and circumstances seldom change overnight. It is easy to become discouraged when facing difficult situations that never improve. It is hard to keep going, and to keep doing good, when nothing seems to get any better despite your best efforts.
We can have confidence, however, and trust that the good we do will eventually bear fruit, not because we have faith in the laws of nature, but because our faith and hope is in the living God who created and sustains all things.
The Bible encourages us to "not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up."
There is a time for planting and a time for harvest. Both are in God's hands. Our part is to persevere in doing good, even while we trust that God will bring the harvest in his time.
Sowing good seeds of love and kindness can seem costly and wasteful when we give without getting much in return. Waiting for the harvest can be difficult when the growing season is much longer than we expected and so many things seem to be going wrong in the meantime. Knowing that our sovereign God is in control, and that he is the one who causes both the crops to grow and our good works to bear fruit, enables us to wait with faith and hope.
