“It’s No Time to Quit”
“So let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don’t give up, or quit.” Galatians 6:9 (The Message)
The image makes its rounds on social media popping up in my Facebook newsfeed from time to time. Its caption usually says something like, “This looks like a pretty crazy music festival until you realize it is a cotton harvest at nighttime.” As they say of many professions, “There is no rest for the weary” and this is certainly true for the men and women who work the land for a living. Sunrise and sunset may separate parts of the day and night, but neither function as an alarm for when to start and stop one’s labor. A farmer was once overheard making the statement, “A forty-hour work week? That’s cute!” His point? The work stops when and only when the job at hand is complete.
It is that time of the year when farmers are reaping the benefits of their planting labors from several months ago. A few leaves of tobacco here, a stray sweet potato there, and some corn spillage on the road serve to remind us something good is unfolding around us. The bare stalks, empty fields, and clouds of dust tell us this is the harvest, a time for which farmers have waited expectantly. They are at it early and keep going when many have turned in for the night. Let a tropical weather system be moving in and they are guaranteed to go that much harder. Quit is nowhere to be found in their vocabulary.
According to the Apostle Paul, quit has no place in a Christian’s vocabulary either. In writing to people in the central portion of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), Paul pulled in an illustration of the Christian life from the realm of agriculture which speaks of reaping what one has sown. Like seeds sown in the spring of the year, a person makes choices each and every day through his or her freedom of will. Some are well thought through and others more spur of the moment. Some of these impact us alone while others intentionally or unintentionally draw people in. A few verses earlier in Galatians 6, Paul states we should not fool ourselves by assuming our choices do not have an impact immediately or down the road. The question is what kind of impact that will be. For the one sowing negativity, division, hate, etc., he or she cannot expect good things to come forth no more than a farmer can sow soybeans and harvest sweet potatoes from those seeds.
Paul’s encouragement is for us to sow that which will bring forth the Fruit of the Spirit. In order for love, joy, peace, and so forth to grow and be the outcome of our way of living, we must begin with good seed. Good seed is formed out of one’s relationship with Christ. It is planted when we intentionally choose Christ-like actions over those which are inconsistent with Christ and is fed as we remain faithful to that course. If we deviate from that, we can expect anything but a good harvest. Just as farmers must practice responsible and sustainable agriculture, we must commit to that which will over time benefit our walk with Christ and influence our relationships with others. That does not happen overnight and it is not an easy row to hoe.
Paul’s encouragement for us is not to quit. Do farmers sow seeds today and harvest their grain, fruits, vegetables, etc. next week? Of course not! Do farmers always get out of the business when they have a bad growing season and harvest? Definitely not. As someone once told me, “Farming may be the greatest gamble of them all.” The farmer puts him or herself out there by investing time and financial resources, and then is at the mercy of the weather over the months which follow. He or she waits patiently, hoping against the odds, and praying. Then (and only then) it comes: the harvest. At the right time, it comes. The outcome of one’s efforts, hopes, and dreams becomes a reality, but only if he or she refuses to give up. It is true of farming and it is true of our Christian journey.
Thanks Be unto God,
The Reverend Kelley Smart