How Thick Are Planting Your Seeds?

Consider this:  whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly... 
2 Corinthians 9:6

So, I guess the question of the day is; how thick are we planting our seeds?  In our area we have been blessed this spring and summer with lots of rain and the crops look wonderful.  As I sit on the front porch typing I see wheat fields to the north and east and corn to the west.  The wheat is just beginning to take on a yellow hue and the corn isn’t tall enough to hide the neighbor’s house from view but I know it won’t be long.  I’m amazed that the rows of a field are always straight and the precise amount of seed is always planted.  Too bad I can’t live my life with such precision and accuracy. If a
farmer decided one spring morning to use half the amount of seed necessary to plant a field his results at harvest time would be very disappointing. In order to get a full field and a plentiful harvest, he simply can’t skimp on the seed.

I suppose in more ways than one, the way we live our faith is like that farmer and his seed. I was reminded of this verse as I listened to a frustrated mother in the check-out lane not long ago. The stuff in her cart was spilling out as her young children played tag in circles around it. She had nearly had it!  She screamed at the older child to get the little ones out of her sight for a minute before she decided to sell them. I could tell she was on the edge of a “mamma melt-down” so I helped her pick up her spilled items and began a gentle conversation in hopes of restoring some peace to her day. Her first comment as we bent down retrieving frozen vegetables and cheerios from the center isle was, “I don’t get any respect!”  The poor thing went on to discuss in lengthy detail all the wrongs that had been done to her and I listened intently and offered comfort and support when I could. Just when I thought she was beginning to soften, the cashier began scanning her order and the lady chewed her out for a $3.00 mistake on her last order and warned her that if she couldn’t do a better job than the last cashier she was going to take her business elsewhere.   She was almost finished paying for her order when the children who had run out of arcade quarters were back and the yelling resumed.  As she began to
wheel away, a gentleman riding in a motorized cart crossed her path causing her to stop  and she turned and looked at me and said, “See what I mean, I get no respect, just look at the way people treat me.”  I remember standing there just hoping she was having a really bad day and that her normal disposition was much better.  I realized very clearly that the one thing she seemed to want most was respect but on that day I saw her sow no seeds of respect with anyone around her so unfortunately the prospects for harvest weren’t looking too good.

It’s very easy to look around us and see all the things we’re missing.  Our society tends to encourage us to look for what were “due”.  We are becoming instant gratification, me first, self-centered, greatest gain with smallest investment thinkers and my question this morning is, “How’s that workin for us?” Maybe instead of fussing over what we’re not getting, we should ponder what we’re giving.  If our life seems to be short on peace and kindness, we might consider how much patience and kindness we’re giving away.  If respect and gentleness seem to be in small supply, maybe it’s because we aren’t sowing those seeds thick enough with those around us. 
If God seems to be distant from our troubles and concerns, we might need
to evaluate the time and attention we’ve given Him lately.  According to this verse from second Corinthians, we are going to get exactly what we give.  Sadly, we live in a world that conditions us to blame others for our problems before we take a hard look at our own investment.  It’s not the first time and it probably won’t be the last time that “world” and “Scripture” don’t match, and friends, “Scripture” always wins!  My dad always used to say, “You can’t
get something for nothing!”  Between St. Paul and Mike McClaskey, I think we have our lesson for the day!  The challenge is to look at the areas in our life that feel short or sparse and really take a look at what we’re sowing.

A Seed To Plant:  Name two things you wish you had more of in your life. Now pray about what you’re sowingin order to reap that harvest.

 Blessings on your day!