When I was kid my parents had a colorful, fragrant garden. The backyard was a mixture of fragrant flowers and tasty vegetables. In the Summer I spent time sketching lilacs, sipping honeysuckle nectar, and helping mom collect tomatoes, green peppers, squash, beets and whatever else we had planted. In the fall, I watching Dad dig for potatoes and prepare the garden for Winter.
The best part of having a garden was harvesting the food, because that meant it was time for savory, steaming, stuffed peppers; juicy, ruby, red tomatoes sliced and sprinkled with glittering white sugar; and tangy, sweet strawberries with cool whipped cream. As a child I found joy in reaping the harvest and the benefits of all the yummy food my family would make. As an adult I now find joy in not just the harvesting, but in the sowing of seeds and in the husbandry of the plants that grow and produce.
This simple joy I find in plants is something that Jesus used often in the Bible to describe a difficult concept to His followers. He also used these parables or analogies to point out where his Disciples failed to see the point of an encounter. Encounters like the Samaritan woman at the well.
This week marks the end of our journey with the Samaritan Woman and I encourage you all to read John 4:4-42 once more and ask your self the question:
Are there any Commands to Obey or Examples to Follow?
Commandment: Sow & Reap
What did the Samaritan woman do right after she left Jesus? She proclaimed to all that he was Messiah and sowed seeds by telling her testimony to the people in her community. In John 4:35-38, Jesus tells his Disciples:
“Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.”
When the Disciples caught up to Jesus, they were focused on the normal things one thinks about while traveling: food and water. Seeing Jesus talking to the woman, they assumed He was getting refreshment at the well, feeding his physical body. But Jesus points them back to the reason they are traveling: to preach and expand the kingdom of God. Instead of feeding His body He was feeding the soul of someone lost. Jesus planted a seed, watered it, and reaped a harvest all in one conversation.
How often do we let our daily travels distract us from our purpose? I can say for a fact that I often miss the point of an interaction with someone. How many chances to sow a seed of hope have I let slip through my fingers because I was busy, tired, uncomfortable, and yes, even scared.
God will place opportunities in front of us. Times where we can sow seeds and times where we can reap a harvest (bring people to Christ). There are times when I take comfort in the idea that if I didn’t act on a nudge from the Holy Spirit that someone else would. But now I’m thinking that was my fear talking. How many times have I talked myself out of the joy of leading someone to Christ because I was scared of what they would think of me?
I encourage you sisters, to be like the Samaritan woman and speak out for Christ in your everyday life. Sow seeds and reap harvests for God. Remember, you were a harvest that was reaped and is being resown. The kingdom of God is not finished bringing in the harvest, do your part.
Bethany Thomas is the Publicity Coordinator and a contributing writer for Shaken & Stirred. She is a daughter of God, a wife, and a dog mom. When not writing for the blog, you are most likely to find her reading a fantasy novel or crafting at her home in Sapulpa, OK.
Photo by Morgane Le Breton on Unsplash