Reap Later
When we were children, we loved to play with boomerangs. When you throw a boomerang, it will return to you. Boomerangs remind me of the principle of sowing and reaping. The Word of God lovingly declares, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (II Corinthians 9:6, New International Version (NIV)). This principle teaches that whatever a person does with his or her life, life does it back in return.
The word of God uses the concept of sowing and reaping as a metaphor to describe the concept of working to achieve goals both good and bad. In one of Jesus’ parables, he used the analogy of someone sowing seeds, and what can happen to the seeds afterwards, to teach about the varying ways people will respond to the teachings of the Word of God. (See Luke 8:5-15). Sowing seed enables the believer to put in the effort in the present, so that it can grow into something in the future. We do this every day in the natural. If you went to college, attending class and studying was one way to plant seeds that would one day grow into a career of your choosing. People running in marathons will plant seeds to win, by training daily and conditioning themselves to run twenty-six miles.
When we sow seeds, we must be patient and know that we will reap the rewards in due season. Think about this, as we enjoy the spring, summer will be upon us soon and we will partake of juicy summer fruit. A popular summer fruit, apricot, takes two to five years to fully mature and produce fruit. Keep this in mind that sown seeds will produce a harvest, but if you don’t sow, you won’t reap. Sometimes, like the apricot, the harvest takes time. You have to make the effort and plant your seed! The same applies spiritually for the believer in Christ Jesus. In order for us to reap from our sowing, we must first sow into good ground by believing God’s Word daily when he declares his promises for us! God wants us to sow seeds because it encourages us in the ways of faithfulness and patience when waiting for the harvest to mature.
If you have been sowing and being faithful to what God has for your life and you have not seen the harvest, do not give up. Cherry trees take four to seven years to display fruit! Sometimes the best fruit is worth waiting for. Remember God’s promise to you, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9, NIV).
Elder Jerome Woods, II is the husband of Alana M. Woods and is the son of the late Jerome Woods, Sr. and Larina Woods. He is a Washington, D.C. native and associate Elder at High Calling Ministries pastored by George W. Hawkins, Jr. Elder Woods is a graduate of The George Washington University (1994) where he received his Bachelor of Arts in English Literature with minors in Sociology and Latin Classical Humanities. Elder Woods received his Juris Doctorate in 1997 from The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law.
