Seasons
It's not always harevst. Let's face it. Correct me if I'm wrong but, it is impossible for things to always be producing fruit. Unless we take ourselves to have more wisdom than Solomon, we need to understand that there is a season for everything. (Ecc.3)Why do I say this, you may ask. Let me continue. How often do we seek constancy in our relationships? With God, with spouses (significant others), friends, aquaintances, etc. We think every time we are with our loved ones it should be an amazing wonderful time. Every time we open our bibles, we expect divine revelation, and profound wisdom from God. Every time we share the gospel, the person should joyfully respond to the truth. Yet the reality is that this doesn't happen. And we get frustrated, we blame ourselves, we doubt God, as well as others, we try to purge our sin so that we can "open up the heavens" and hear God speak. Is this healthy? I mean really.....How much better would our lives be if we understood seasons? In this generation, in the western world, we are losing our notion of agriculture. We live in cities and buy our produce pre-packaged and ready to serve. We never have to wait for it to come, to grow, ripen. If Jesus is the vine, and we are branches, wouldn't it be worth finding out, at least the basics, about how fruit, or vegetables, grow?
When a seed is planted, sometimes there is a long periode before we seed it again at all. even when we start to growth, there is another time when the plant is maturing. Then there is blosoming and fertilizing, which is beautiful but still no fruit is there. Finally there is fruit that shows, but we still need to wait for the fruit to ripen before we can enjoy it. Then it continues to produce fruit consistently until God "calls it home", right? Not so much. After the fruit is harvested, it's winter time. Seasons, cycles. It's all around us. And there is lot's of work to do during the seasons when there is no fruit. Even in the winters.
So in conclusion, I believe that we can apply this analogy to lives. Whether it is in ministry, or in our relationships, we need to be aware of the seasons, and be ready to do the appropriate work during those seasons, so that we can experience good fruit in our lives.
posted by Ben Peterson @ 9:42 AM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Sounds like the words of an experienced gardener Ben! I know you're not, but you are right about the seasons. The earth and apple trees etc. need a definite rest period before producing another crop. In our climate this is accomplished by our winter season of frost and cold weather. I've been enjoying your blog!
very true, ben. good thought to begin my week. did you know that bamboo seeds take two years before they begin pressing through the dirt? bamboo is a type of grass .. it's the most durable grass of all the types. of course, the most difficult time in the life of a plant is right before it breaks through the dirt. it's pressing and pressing and pressing and the dirt is resisting and resisting and resisting ... then it breaks through ... which is why water is so important ... it makes the dirt softer for the plant to break through.
smile.
derek
This is a lot like the season we are in here in Vancouver with our Mission Adventures program. We have no teams this spring so that we can prepare for the summer. It's our sowing time now. The harvest is in the summer.
Hi. Thank you for sharing this analogy. I am one of those who have often been blinded to seasons and been frustrated. I really appreciate what you've shared. God Bless!
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