As I come out of our College of Prayer weekend, the question that stands out to me is simple: what do I need to empty myself of so that I can be filled with the life the Holy Spirit desires for me? Then God affirmed the question as I heard pastor Rick Warren speak about planting seeds and he poses the question: “What seeds do you want to plant this Spring?”
Somewhere between emptying our lives of things that hinder our spiritual life and being filled with the things the Holy Spirit can only provide is our active farming. We are constantly planting some kind of seed—good seeds and bad seeds. Not only that, as Rick Warren reminded me through his message, other people plant seeds in my life whether or not I am aware of that.
Seeds are powerful! They always generate a harvest of some kind. So the question for us today is what kind of seeds am I planting? I confess I never thought of springtime as an opportunity to consider this question, but it makes sense from an agricultural point of view. You can think of it in terms of plating seeds in your life or planting seeds in other people’s lives. And the question applies to every aspect of life:
Health
Relationships
Finances
Integrity
Career
Spirituality
Parenting
Singleness
Service
Etc.
I appreciate Rick Warren’s thought as he emphasizes the importance of the seeds we plant: “Sow a thought you reap an action; sow an action you reap a habit; sow a habit you reap character; sow character you reap a destiny.”
So before you jump to follow every desire that drives your soul this Spring, give time to consider this significant question.
Now it is important to consider the extent of our planting. The way the apostle Paul puts it: “Now I say this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Co 9:6). So the second question we need to ask is this: Am I sowing sparingly or generously? How I plant determines the level of harvest I will reap.
There is no harvest unless a seed is planted. And the extent of the harvest I reap is determined by whether or not my planting is generous or sparing.
Wouldn’t it be great to take some time and ask God during these days to lead us as we consider these two questions:
What kind of seeds am I planting?
Am I planting generously or sparingly?
May God help us become better and more generous farmers so that our lives and the lives of others can be filled with the things our Father (the vinedresser, John 15) longs to fill us with!
—Diego Cuartas
*Please be advised that this blog represents the views, opinions and beliefs of the writer and does not necessarily reflect those of our church leadership or denominational affiliation.