Daily Devotional

I don’t have much of a green thumb so sowing and reaping is not something that I have a lot of experience with. I certainly appreciate those who have a knack for growing things, especially those things that we get to eat. When my family first moved to this area a few years ago, we stayed at a house of someone who knew how to grow some amazing things. Within walking distance to the front door was a peach tree, orange trees, and an avocado tree. There always seemed to be something amazing to pick and enjoy.

When we moved into our house, we thought it’d be great to have an avocado tree and continue to experience the joy of abundant avocados right in our own backyard. We were slightly dismayed to learn that it takes about 5 years for an avocado tree to produce avocados. We have now been in our house for 3 years…and we are still 5 years away from avocados. Why? We never planted an avocado tree because 5 years sounded like a long time to have to wait. Now that we are 3 years closer to that hypothetical date, it doesn’t seem so long. We would now be just 2 years away from our first avocado! The reality of the situation is that to reap avocados we had to plant the tree, and since we didn’t do that, we are no closer to having free avocados.

Many of us probably want to have a thriving, healthy spiritual life but the truth of the matter is it takes some work on our part. We have to put in the effort, we have to sow some seeds to grow spiritual fruit. God brings the growth, but He also wants us to participate and put forth some effort. Not only does God desire for us to grow, He’ll also give us what we need to grow. The only missing ingredient is our desire to take action. It takes time, it takes effort, but if we put in the work now, we will see a harvest in the future. We aren’t guaranteed instant results, but the best day to start sowing the things we want to reap in the future is today.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.