Light Changes Things (June 28, 2020)

Have you ever noticed that light changes things?  

Recently, we’ve been continuing to work in our house on a remodeling project.  It has had its ups and downs, but things are getting done (slower than I’d like, but it’s getting done).  One of the major changes to our rooms has been lighting.  

Until recently, we’ve not had any lights installed in the rooms we are remodeling.  One was removed for us to paint, and there were two other places where we needed to purchase fixtures.  So, we worked for a while without them.  In some ways, this was good as it limited the time that I was able to work to the daylight hours.  In other ways, this was bad as it limited the time that I was able to work to the daylight hours.  Still, we all know that light is beneficial, and light changes things.

One way that light changes things is that it can reveal blemishes.  Shine a light on something that looks great in the darkness, and all of the sudden, it doesn’t look so great any more.

This happened with one area of drywall.  (I’ve expressed my frustrations with drywall in the past…I promise I won’t go down that road again today.)  With the light from the windows, the drywall on one wall looked pretty good.    No major flaws, fairly smooth.  Looking pretty decent.  Then, we installed some lights overhead.  5 directional beams that would shine over some shelving/counter area.

Light changes things.

All of the sudden what looked “good” now looked “bad.”  What seemed to be “nice” turned “ugly.”  What looked like “perfection” now became “imperfection.”  We had even been through painting and inspecting and re-doing some other areas, thinking everything was good.  Still, these five small beams of light revealed what the darkness had hidden.  Blemishes.  Flaws.  Mistakes.  Failures.  Things that I wish would have remained hidden forever.

Light changes things.  

Do you know what else changes things?  God.

In the first Epistle (fancy word for letter that is used as a book of the New Testament) of John, we read, “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5)

No darkness.  At all.  Not even a hint of it.

Can you imagine that?  No darkness?  At all?  

The slightest imperfection would be laid bare.  The tiniest bump, the slightest bit out of level (unfortunately, I have a cabinet handle that is this way currently…may get fixed, may stay that way for a while), all revealed.  Every mistake, every slip up, every goof, every flaw, whether intentional or otherwise, would be lit up for all to see.  

Light changes things.

Things done in the darkness don’t seem so bad, but shine a light on them, and you see them for what they truly are.  Bumpy drywall doesn’t look so bad in the dark.  In the light?  Not good.  Questionable decisions may not seem too bad when one is walking in darkness.  In the light?  You see them for what they are.

God is described as the light.  In him there is no darkness.  At all.

No impurities.  No imperfections.  No wickedness.  No vileness.  No impure thoughts or motives.  No selfishness.  No vain ambition.  No hate.  No evil.  No sin.  No shame.  No lying.  No cheating.  No backstabbing.  No unfairness.  No immorality.

No darkness.  At all.  That is the nature of God.  God is light. 

1 John continues, “If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true;” (1 John 1:6)   

If we say that we are walking in the light, but we are actually walking in darkness, that’s not good.  If we say that we are Christians.  If we say that we know God.  If we say that we follow Jesus, but we are walking in darkness.  We lie.  We do not do what is true, and this will be revealed.  We can’t possibly hope to be used for the Kingdom of Light if we keep pursuing the kingdom of darkness.  It will never work.  The Light will reveal our motives, people will see through our deceitfulness, the lie will be exposed, and we will be known for how dark we are.

“but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7)

Fortunately, God does not leave us in our darkness.  God does not make us wallow in our pit, or leave us in our shame.  Instead, he offers us his Son, Jesus, the Light of the World to cleanse us from our sin.  

You know, it would be silly for me to go back to the dark in those rooms just because I don’t like what the light revealed.  How much sense would it make if I said, “I don’t like what I see!  Take all the lights out!  Let’s live in the dark.”  It would make no sense whatsoever.  We couldn’t use the rooms for their intended purposes.  We’d be limited in their functionality and their use.  Instead, we need to address the issues and allow the light to shine.

Often, though, in our own lives, we’re tempted to do that which makes no sense to do.  The light shines and reveals the darkness, and we want to turn the light off!  Like it is the light’s problem!  “Yeah, yeah, I see the pride.  I see the greed.  I see the envy in my life.  Turn off that terrible light and just let me continue in those things!”  

That makes no sense either!  We aren’t made to walk in darkness.  We have been created to be children of the light.  That’s our design.  That’s our purpose.  That’s our intent.  To be children of the light.

The difficulty, though, is that sometimes even when we are trying to walk in the light, we can still stumble around like we are in darkness.

I mentioned the handle that isn’t level.  I did that with plenty of light and a level in hand.  No excuse.  Yet, it’s still not right.  I still screwed up.  So, what then? 

John continues, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8)

Recognize that we are sinners, that we aren’t perfect, that we aren’t God.  Deal with the fact that we will screw up.  Then, when we do screw up, confess.  Admit the failure.  Admit the wrong.  Look at the mistake.  Let the light shine on the darkness.  Repent from these failures and be forgiven, cleansed, renewed, restored, and then continue to walk in the light. 

Friends, light changes things.  It really does.  A dark room, even newly remodeled, can hide all kinds of ugliness.  Bumps and ridges, cracks and dents, flaws and imperfections.  But shine a light on those things and the truth is revealed.  Then, the problems can be addressed and the room can be made the way that is intended.  

The same is true of the light of God.  The light of God in our life will change things.  It will absolutely, without a doubt, reveal our brokenness, our cracks, our bumps and our flaws.  If you say it doesn’t, well…refer to what John just said.  But, when those things are revealed, that is when we may seek God and ask for him to change us, to transform us, to make us new.  That’s when we confess our sins and allow the blood of Jesus to cover us and cleanse us.

In the time since we’ve installed the lights in the room, we’ve put in our shelving that had been planned for that space.  Fortunately, they’ve covered over the drywall issues.  You can see them no longer.  It’s like they never existed in the first place.

Sound familiar?  That’s what God offers to us as well.  Sins removed from us as far as the east is from the west…like they weren’t there in the first place. 

Light changes things, friends, it really does.  Walk in the light.

~ Pastor Chris

Holy Ghosting (June 21, 2020)

Have you ever been ghosted?

You may not be familiar with the term, but it’s an unfortunate trend that occurs within our culture and society.

Here is what happens:  Two people are in some type of relationship.  Dating, friends, basketball buddies, whatever.  Person A gets tired of Person B.  Without any warning, Person A ceases all communication even when Person B is still trying to communicate with them.  If Person B sends a message, no response.  Calls them up…nothing.  Emails…zilch.  Drives to the house…Person A shuts the curtains and hides behind the couch.  Complete relationship and communication termination without explanation.  Nothing whatsoever.  The relationship is ended.  No goodbye.  No explanation.  No apologies.  Nothing.  Person B has been ghosted.

Ghosting.  

It’s a terrible thing, really.  I’m not going to pretend to understand it.  I understand that relationships end and it might be easier just to ignore the situation, but if someone is still trying to maintain the connection, why not at least have the courtesy to say something?  To me, the minimum should be some kind of ending conversation.  “Here’s why this isn’t working out….” “Here’s why I can’t play basketball with you anymore…you keep dunking on my head and I’m tired of feeling old.”  “Here’s why I’m pulling out of this relationship, out of this friendship, out of ______.”  I know those types of conversations can be difficult, but it should be the minimum requirement for ending a relationship, especially when one person thinks the relationship is continuing on as usual.  Some type of communication should be had to say that the relationship is over.

Ghosting.

Recently, I experienced a very, very, very mild case of ghosting.  I’ve been trying to sell some things and clear out a bunch of junk from our house.  (Well, it’s not really junk, per se, but we’re in the midst of a giant purge to try to free up some space.  So, things are leaving the house.  You know what they say…one person’s junk is another’s treasure.  I’m looking for people to treasure the junk that we’re purging.)  Anyway, I’ve been selling some things.  On more than one occasion, I’ve had people lined up to buy something.  They’ve contacted me, committed to purchase, arranged all of the details, set the time, had the address, were given the phone number, everything.  

The time comes…nothing.

I wait…nothing.  I wait some more…nothing.

I message…nothing.

I email…nothing.

I call…nothing.

Crickets.  No response.  I’ve been ghosted.  Despite all of the promises, despite all of the arrangements, despite all of the plans, I never hear from them again.  

I’ve been ghosted.

My recent experience is not a huge deal compared to the bigger instances of ghosting.  I didn’t have deep relationships with these people.  I don’t know them other than trying to sell something.  People go through way more heartache and suffering when they lose friends/partners/etc. in this way.  But still…being ghosted is miserable.

Where’s the courtesy?  Where’s the valuing another’s time?  Where’s the following through with what was promised?  Where’s the sticking to one’s word?  

I understand things change.  Maybe you no longer want my Fraggle Rock record.  I get it.  Fraggle Rock isn’t for everyone.  Maybe the ice cream place on the way to buy Fraggle Rock took the last $20 you had budgeted to spend.  No big deal.  Just let me know!  That way I can eat my own ice cream and not wait around.  Then, I can sell Fraggle Rock to the next Muppet lover instead of waiting for someone who is never going to show up.  Life happens.  Just let me know.  At minimum, respond.

Ghosting.  No good whatsoever.

As I was thinking about this idea, a couple of things occurred to me:  

1)  I hope that I don’t act in that manner.  I hope that I show up to things, that I keep my word, that my “yes” means “yes”, and that my “no” means “no.”  

Jesus teaches people a lesson about taking oaths in the Gospel of Matthew.  “I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.  And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.  All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.  (Matthew 5:34-37)

I hope this is how I live, that I live life with integrity.  No need for pinky promises or swearing by all that is holy or any other special phrase to indicate that I won’t back out.  Yes.  No.  (Sometimes “I don’t know.” Or “Maybe.”)  True to my word.  That's what I want.

Then, if things change, or life happens and my plans take a different route that I let people know.  I said yes, I really meant yes, but I didn’t realize that this other thing would come up, or that this circumstance would change.  We don’t know the future.  Sometimes our ‘yes’ changes to a ‘no’ or vice versa.  However, I hope I’m honest about that too.  At minimum, I hope that I respond to people, especially if they are reaching out to me for a response.  I know I’m not perfect, others aren’t either, and I’ll make mistakes, I’ll forget, I’ll occasionally take a while to get back to people for a variety of reasons, but I hope that I do not “ghost.”  I hope you don’t either.  

2)  I wonder if there is a possibility of Holy Ghosting.

What would it look like to Holy Ghost someone?

I know, the term “Holy Ghost” has kind of fallen out of fashion when referencing the Third Person of the Trinity.  We like to say Holy Spirit now as the word “ghost” can conjure up images of sheets floating around (or worse) that shouldn’t be associated with God.  That’s fine, and I typically say Holy Spirit myself.  But, what would it look like for us to Holy Ghost someone?

What would it look like in our relationships, even the small, passing ones, for God to show up through us?  What would it look like for people to look back at the interactions they had with us and feel like they grew closer to God because of them?

Holy Ghosting.  That’s something I can get behind.

Ephesians 5:18 teaches us to “be filled with the Holy Spirit.”  As I remember from previous sermons/conversations, the idea here is that this is not a once and done kind of an event.  Instead, it’s a continual filling of the Holy Spirit, like a garden hose constantly filling up a cup and not being shut off…constantly filled, splashing out, getting others wet around you, overflowing.  This should be a continual process of being filled with the Spirit that impacts others.  This isn’t some tiny little drink of God, but an over-abundant outpouring of God so that when people interact with you they can’t help but to be influenced and impacted by God as well.

That’s my prayer, that I would Holy Ghost people…even in the small ways.

Even when I’m exchanging FaceBook Marketplace messages with people, or when the person eventually comes for my Fraggle Rock record, or when I donate it to the thrift store because nobody wants it, that I’d be getting people wet.  That my attitude, my speech, my behavior, my friendliness, the fruit of the Spirit of God within me would constantly be splashing over so that people would be Holy Ghosted, impacted by the presence of God in my life.  That’s my prayer…to Holy Ghost people.  In the big, long, deep relationships of family and friends and church and in the small relationships of selling junk or buying veggies and sweets at the supermarket, that I would be used to impact people by the presence of God in my life.

Ghosting:

I hope that it doesn’t happen to you.  I hope you don’t do it to others.

Holy Ghosting:

I hope that it does happen to you.  I hope you do it to others.

~ Pastor Chris

(As an aside, I remember seeing some type of devotional that talked about the Holy Spirit and ghosting.  I was likely influenced by that devotional, but I can’t remember the article specifically or the points that it was making…just being honest that I wasn’t the only one to draw some parallels between the two areas.)

A Freed Possum (June 14, 2020)

Our family is blessed to live in the country.  We live on the edge of a working farm with fields in front of us and the woods behind us.  It’s a beautiful location, and we are constantly reminded of God’s glory revealed to us through creation.  On many occasions, we get to see amazing sunsets or witness impressive storms.  We are privileged to view the changing of the seasons through the crops that have been planted or the trees changing colors.  It truly is a remarkable place, and we are thankful to call it our home.

Though we love our home and are grateful to live there, residing in that location does occasionally have its challenges.  One of them that comes to mind is animals. 

Recently, there has been a renegade group of critters that have teamed up to wreak havoc on our quaint little abode.  These masked bandits have entered into our domain, rummaging through our refuse, tearing up our plants, and generally just leaving a big, ol’ mess.  If you haven’t guessed, we’ve been visited by raccoons.

This happens occasionally.  An animal or family of animals decides that they are no longer happy with everything that has been provided in the wild…the berries, the vegetation, the fish, the snails, etc., and they decide to expand upon their diet…looking for leftover pizza scraps or trying to eat whatever morsels of Clem’s BBQ might be left in the packaging.  So, they come, and they see what they can find in the quiet of the night, tearing open bags and generally ransacking the place.  

I don’t blame them.  I’d rather eat pizza and Clem’s than some snail I find in the woods.  However, even though I don’t blame them, the arrangement of the raccoons tearing up everything is less than ideal.  So, it becomes a problem that must be addressed.

Now, just so we’re clear…we live in the country, but we don’t live there by ourselves.  We are a literal stones throw away from my in-laws.  I could even hit their place shutting my eyes and throwing with my left hand.  They’re that close.  (That’s a blessing as well…and I’m not just saying that because they will likely read this devotional.)  So, when problems arise at the property, it’s not just a problem for me, Christa & Silas.  It’s a problem for the whole Shrum Compound (we live on their property so they get the honors of the name).  We all have to figure out what to do.  We have to come together to deal with the situation.  Unite to tackle the problem.  

Enter the live trap.

My father-in-law purchased a live trap to catch the raccoons, and up to this point it has worked well.  But, it isn’t particular.  Any old thing that walks in there to eat the goodies should get caught.  There’s no scanning device, no high-tech means of guaranteeing that we only get raccoons.  If you enter the trap, you get caught.  

Enter a possum.

This morning as I left to go to work, I checked the trap and was a bit surprised to see a possum.  Apparently, possums like marshmallows and food scraps too.  This one decided to check them out and was caught.  That, in and of itself, wasn’t that surprising.  

The surprising part?  The door to the trap was open…and the possum was still in the thing.

I shrugged, figuring my father-in-law had recently left and decided to let him out.  I hopped in the car and headed towards work, but on the way I called up my father-in-law and asked, “What’s the deal with the possum?”  He responded, “That thing’s still in there?”  “Yep,” I assured him.  He answered, “Well, I decided to let him go so I opened the door.  I figured he’d be gone by now.”  

It had been over three hours!  Yet, the possum remained.  “Trapped” in a cage with an open door to freedom.  For all I know, he might still be in there.  Hopefully, he’s made his way out.  If not, we’ll help him out when we get home.

(Now, I recognize that the possum might have teamed up with the raccoons, and he might be in on the ransacking.  If so, letting him loose might have been a poor choice.  Regardless, the possum was granted his freedom, and we will deal with the results of that decision…good or bad.)

I keep picturing that possum in that cage. 

It didn’t seem upset.  It didn’t seem bothered.  It wasn’t acting agitated or hissing or showing signs of anger.  It was just kind of walking back and forth, likely hoping to get out.  I imagine that it was wanting to head back to the woods and take a nap.  Possums don’t really like being awake during the day.  Maybe the daylight was clouding its thoughts.

But I keep picturing that possum.

CAN HE NOT SEE THE OPEN DOOR?  

Why not run into the freedom that you had been given?

What’s your problem, possum?

You know we do the same thing. 

God has granted us freedom.  Undeserved.  We can even recognize that we’re the ones who have gone off the rails, who have left that which God has given us and have sought to fill our appetites with other things.  We aren’t just some innocent bystander who accidentally walked into a trap.  We’re guiltier than the raccoons (and possibly the possum).  We deserve to be trapped.  We do not deserve mercy, or grace, or love, or freedom.  We don’t.  We deserve to be caught.  It is the natural consequence of our actions.

And yet…God has set us free.

God has opened the door.  He has released us from our captivity.  He has unloosed our chains.  He has shown us the path, lit the way, and has even promised to walk with us.

Still, we, like the possum, continue to walk back and forth in our cage, assuming we’re trapped, we’re caught, we’re stuck.  “I can’t help it!  This is just the way that I’m made.  Besides…I like these marshmallows and food scraps at the bottom of this cage.” 

Meanwhile the door to freedom is swinging wide open.

In the Gospel of Luke, we find what is often called the Parable of the Prodigal Son.  It’s an awesome story, and there are tons of lessons/insights/applications that can be gleaned from that passage.  If you haven’t read it lately, check it out in Luke 15:11-31.  The story goes that a father has two sons.  The younger son asks for his share of the estate…so that he might know freedom.  The father grants his request, and according to verse 13, 

“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.”

Apparently, this younger son had felt restricted in the confines of his home.  He was tired of the rules, the regulations, the parameters of living within his father’s home.  He set out to live it up.

I imagine it went well for a while.  He enjoyed the marshmallows, the leftover Clem’s, the food scraps that had been set out for him.  

But then, things got bad.  A famine came, he was out of money, and he was trapped.  Stuck in a cage, looking at the pods that the pigs ate, wishing that he could eat them.

Verse 17 continues, “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’  So he got up and went to his father.”  (Luke 15:17-20)

When he came to his senses, he knew where to find freedom.  When he came to his senses, he knew that the door had been opened, that the cage had been unlocked, that he could actually live a life that had meaning, had purpose, that offered real food.  When he came to his senses, he knew that he needed to look to his father.

Friends, we too, need to look to our Father.  We need to look to God and find the freedom that we often seek in other places.  We need to recognize that God has opened the door to this freedom through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ, and that we are accepted into the family of God, even though we are deserving of our guilt. 

And then, when we’ve been set free, let’s not stay in the trap.  What good is freedom if we never leave the cage?  What good is a life in Christ if we are still clinging to the patterns of this world?  What good is victory over sin if we keep chasing after the sin time and time and time again, licking the bottom of the cage, hoping for just one more taste of a stale marshmallow instead of enjoying the life that God has promised? 

Friends, don’t stay in the trap.  Don’t keep chasing after this world and the temporary pleasures that it has to offer.  Let’s come to our senses and seek after God.  Let’s walk through the door that has been opened for us, and let’s never turn back.

I keep thinking about that possum.  I pray that I’m not like him.

~ Pastor Chris

Pressing Onward (June 7, 2020)

Many of you know that I have a sweet tooth.  It comes up in my preaching with some regularity, and it’s true.  I like the sweet stuff.  Cake, cookies, pie, ice cream, chocolate…yummy, yummy stuff.  I try not to go crazy.  I try not to let sugar be the main ingredient in my life.  Sometimes, I even go through periods where I give it all up completely, just to keep things in balance.  Still, the fact remains.  I like my desserts.

Do you know what else I like?  Vegetables.  It might be surprising, but even though I have a pretty large sweet tooth, I also really enjoy vegetables.  In fact, on most days, I eat a fair amount of them (hopefully more than I eat the sugary stuff), and I really enjoy them.  It’s hard to beat a fresh, garden tomato (yeah, yeah a tomato is a fruit…I’m still putting it in the vegetable category) or some newly harvested asparagus.  Sugar snap peas, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, spinach, cucumbers, etc., I really enjoy all of it…particularly if they are fresh.  Chop up a variety of vegetables and put it in a salad…delicious.  Veggies don’t get the same amount of love and attention in my sermons as chocolate or pie.  But, the fact remains, I really do enjoy eating vegetables…particularly fresh vegetables.  (Ok, if I’m completely honest, I should just say that I like FOOD.  Though there are things that I do not like…fruitcake, I’m looking at you.  Okra, you’re no good either.  Coconut, you’re questionable.  In general, it’s more likely that I will like most foods than not like something.  I’m not a “foodie,” but I sure do like food.) 

Now that we’re clearer on my eating habits, let me continue with some additional information, just to set the stage.  I love fresh vegetables, freshly picked garden vegetables are even better.  Plus, I live in the country on my in-laws property which sits on the edge of a decent sized, working farm.  There is ample space for a garden, ample resource, ample opportunity for whatever vegetable growing endeavor I would wish to pursue.  One would think that given all of this information that I would have an amazing garden, producing delicious vegetables to be consumed by me whenever I wish.  One would be wrong.

I love fresh veggies.  I have not yet acquired a love of gardening.  There is no garden, and there are no plans for me to have one in any kind of immediate future.  Instead, I rely on others to provide me with delicious produce.  I head to the grocery store or the farmers’ market, and I enjoy the veggies of another’s labor.  No gardening for me.

Now, you might ask, “Why?”  And I’d have 1,000 reasons including the busy-ness of my schedule and the prioritizing of other activities, but part of the reason as to why I do not produce my own vegetables when I enjoy them so much is simple.  IT IS A LOT OF WORK!  I know.  I’ve helped others tend to veggies occasionally in the past, and I’ve witnessed people do it.

My Grandpa Cowan loved being outside and working with the land.  He wasn’t a farmer by trade, but his garden was large and consistently impressive.  It didn’t get that way by itself.  It took a lot of work.  Work that he enjoyed, but work nonetheless.  I know.  I saw him working.  Christa’s Grandfather is a retired dairy farmer.  I watched him work at the tail end of his career managing the crops preparing the soil, planting, tending, caring, on and on and on.  Growing vegetables takes a lot of work.  Right now, for me, it’s a lot of work that I do not have the time/energy/passion to do.  

Ok, so now that we’re clearer on my love of veggies as well as my lack of gardening, let’s get moving with the Scripture.  There’s a passage in Paul’s letter to the Galatians that says this:

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.  (Galatians 6:7-9)

I bring up this passage for a couple of reasons.  One, there is the obvious lesson of reaping what you sow.  Plant cucumber seeds (and have all of the right conditions to grow cucumbers, including the work done to tend to the plants), and what do you get?  Cucumbers.  Plant tomato plants, you don’t get squash.  Want asparagus?  Don’t go buy spicy, jalapeño pepper seeds (if you’ve made that mistake and have a fresh jalapeño laying around that you’re not eating…let me know.  I like those too.)

Paul tells us that this principle is applied in our lives as well.  If you sow to please your flesh, if you seek the desires of this world, if your fleshly inclinations are what dictate your existence, well…you’re going to reap destruction.  You cannot expect anything else.  Likewise, if you sow to please the Spirit, if your life is hidden in Christ, then from the Spirit you will reap eternal reward.  

This should be an obvious lesson.  Sow for the flesh, the flesh will reap destruction.  Sow for the Spirit, the Spirit will bring forth life.  And yet, we seem to forget the lesson.  We plant rotten, spoiled rubbish, not even a seed, that has no hopes of bearing fruit, and we expect to have an amazing harvest.  It just doesn’t work like that.  One reaps what one sows.

Ah, but here’s the tricky part.  Sometimes, in life, that principle is not so apparent.  Sometimes, it seems like those who are sowing for their flesh are reaping life while those who are sowing for the Spirit are reaping destruction.  Sometimes, you can sow good seed, in good soil, and do all of the work to get the harvest, but it just doesn’t seem like it will turn out that way.  Sometimes, despite our best efforts our crops can fail.  Tomatoes can get blight.  Insects or diseases can settle in.  Sometimes, things can happen that, even when we’re sowing good seed, the fruit does not seem to be coming.

This is where I want for us to remember the second part of this passage.  

Paul says “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

Let us not become weary in doing good.  Keep at it.  Persevere.

Even when there is no evidence of bearing any kind of good fruit. 

Even when the rain hasn’t fallen for a long, long, time.

Even when you dig and keep running into rocks, and when the crops come up and all you see are weeds, and when the plants start to grow they are attacked by bugs, and when the veggies start to produce they are eaten by the deer.  

Even then, persevere.

I remember visiting my grandparents as a kid, and one of the things that I would do on occasion while we were there was to help my Grandpa with Japanese beetles.  I’m not a fan of Japanese beetles.  I don’t think Grandpa was either.  The crops would be up and the beetles would come in.  Thousands of them.  Grandpa would get a mayonnaise jar partially filled with some kind of concoction to take care of the beetles, and he’d hand me one, and we’d go through the crops just picking off Japanese beetles and throwing them in the jar.  They were relentless.  But so was Grandpa.

He’d walk through each row, looking over each plant, and he’d pick off each beetle one by one by one by one.  It wouldn’t take long before I would quit because I was tired or hot or thirsty or bored or wanted to go and play, but not Grandpa.  He wouldn’t stop.  He would persevere.

Why?  Because he knew that if he persevered, if he just kept going, if he could take care of all of the beetles, he would enjoy the fruit of his labor.  He knew that if he kept at it, he would have a harvest and Grandma would be able to prepare some delicious veggies.  (He liked his veggies, but he also liked his sweets as well.  At the end of the meal, he’d get this twinkle in his eye, he’d smile or wink at me, and then he’d ask Grandma if she made him a pie or some cookies…she always did.)

Do you know what would have happened if my Grandpa would have stopped?  If he would have seen all of the beetles and gave up?  He would never have reaped a harvest.  He would have never experienced the benefit of his labor.  All of his previous efforts would have been in vain.

Friends, we, too, need to persevere.  We need to keep going.  Even if it looks like all of our good efforts to sow good seed, to feed the Spirit appear to be coming up empty, we need to keep going.  Even if we are in a season of hardship, we need to keep going.  Even if it hasn’t rained and the weeds are popping up and it seems like all we ever do is pluck beetle after beetle after beetle, we need to keep going.  Why?  God promises us that if we keep going “…at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

We can trust that God’s promises are true, that God’s Word is reliable, and that at the proper time we will reap a harvest of eternal life through Christ Jesus.  Let us continue to sow into the Spirit, knowing that we will reap a harvest beyond our expectation or ability for God is faithful and good.

~ Pastor Chris