Epic Family,
“Fruit and vegetable seed sales are jumping worldwide.” Gardening has become a new hobby for many during this COVID-19 season. Have you taken on this new adventure? If so, what kinds of seeds are you planting? On Saturday, a friend showed our family where she had planted a peach tree. By looking at the short sprout, I would have never guessed it was on the way to becoming a peach tree. She shared that it wouldn’t produce fruit for 4-5 years. I’m not sure I’m patient enough to become a gardener.
Whether you are gardening or not, you are planting seeds during this current season. What kinds of seeds are you planting? What are you depositing into the soil of your life? How are you spending your time? How are you directing your thoughts? Who are you caring for, besides yourself? Are you pursuing spiritual growth?
Galatians 6:7-10 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.
Recognize that what you are reaping in this season came from something you sowed in a previous season. It’s really important to realize that much of what we’re reaping in this current season isn’t because of this current season. It actually comes from the seeds we planted in a previous season. When we realize we don’t like what we are reaping, there isn’t much we can do about that. But we can do something about what we’re going to reap in the future - start sowing better seed. What could you begin planting now, knowing you’ll see its fruit in the future?
Keep sowing good seed, even if you haven’t seen the desired fruit yet. One of the most challenging things for us to do is to stick with something when we haven’t seen the results yet. DON’T GIVE UP! It might take longer than we had hoped, but good fruit will show up in our lives. In his book, Galatians for You, Tim Keller writes, “There is always a delay between sowing and reaping.” I wonder how many good things we stop doing just before we experience a breakthrough.
God determines how long the harvest will take and what size it will be. If you’re like me, you wish it was harvest season every single day. That’s just not how life works. There’s a planting season and there’s also a pruning season. If we want to enjoy a bountiful harvest one day, we must fully engage in these others seasons as well. Is God showing you anything in this season that needs to be pruned in your life? There could be an unhealthy habit or a negative thought pattern or you have allowed yourself to become distracted from what matters most.
We have an opportunity to sow good seed into the lives of others. What are you sowing into the lives of others? When I see how many of you are serving your neighbors and local organizations, it’s really inspiring to me. Though none of us would have asked for this pandemic season, it has opened up so many opportunities for us to serve others. Think of 3 specific investments you can make into the lives of others this week.
Here are three of my favorite Scriptures about planting and fruit:
Psalm 1:1-3, Jeremiah 17:5-8, Luke 6:43-45
I want to thank all of you for the seeds our Epic community is planting in this season. I have a strong sense that God is preparing a harvest for our future together.
Much Love,
