But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?(Luke 18:8)
Some of the seeds that we plant take a long time to get to the harvest stage. Flowers and grains have a very predictable time frame from planting to harvest, but the seeds that we plant as persons and cultures can have very different time frames. In the real world we are also faced with the reality that a lot of the seeds that are sown are poisonous weed seeds that do their best to overwhelm the holy seeds of love that God has planted in our persons and in our cultures. Those of us who have been planted in this time frame in all the different cultures in our world today are facing a growing season that has not been seen since the days of Noah. It’s wonderfully true that the Gospel has been going out to the ends of the earth, but it is also true that the spiritual climate that we are growing in has become when God saw that the earth had become corrupt and was filled with violence. (Gen. 6:11)
It’s wonderfully true that today, and every day, there are men and women and boys and girls who are giving themselves to their Savior and are certified children of God. But what will become of us who have been born into life on earth and then born again in the face of the coming judgment that God has promised a world in rebellion to him? It’s increasingly clear that we are surrounded by all sorts of spiritual weeds that are doing their best to choke out the children of God, so what hope do we have in the face of this overwhelming display of corruption and violence? We have the promises of God who has given us life and then eternal life. He has promised that when he has started a good work in us, he will finish what he has started.(Phil. 1:6) He has promised that if he is for us, there is nothing that our enemies can do to stop his love and care for us.(Rom.8:31) He has promised us a life that was planned before we were born that would be lived under his loving guidance and gracious care.(Ps. 139:16-18) He has promised to give us the direction and care that are needed to keep on planting the seeds of truth and love even if our bodies are flooded with pain and our eyes are flooded with tears. Dear Lord, please help us to remember that you promised us that the weeping of the planting will soon be followed by our shouts of joy and singing as we return with the harvest in eternity.
Psalms 126: 5 Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. 6 They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest.
Roy Wisner
