"Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness."
Hosea 10:12
I have always loved fields of flowers. Seems to me when I see fields and fields of beauty, (and blue and red are my favorite color), I almost feel like it is evidence of the invisible hands of God still planting flowers in His vast earth garden to remind us that He is still creating and perpetuating life, even when we are not aware.
The photo above was taken when Joy and I visited the rose garden in the Hofburg Palace in Vienna. The roses were planted and developed over time. A gardener explained in detail what it took to grow these strong, healthy rose bushes. The watering, pruning, nourishing over 200 years!.
What are you planing today? What you plant may leave a legacy for decades or even centuries! What you plant and water will grow—be it love or anger or diligence or laziness.
When looking at a tiny seed, it is impossible to see what will bloom from this minute speck of nothing, (-the color it will produce, the bloom or fruit, or how large the plant will be.) There is vast potential locked within, that under the right circumstances--planted in good soil, watered and covered in sunshine—will produce a miracle. The seed transforms into something more than itself--it gives birth to a plant that blooms and brings beauty, life, color and fruit; a miraculous something from nearly-nothing.
And so, God calls us to sow--to sow broadly, generously, diligently.
Sometimes the seeds that He requires us to sow do not obviously promise anything--yet, we are asked to believe in the potential--the latent miracles inside of these small life-seeds.
We are to sow with a view to righteousness--not seeing or knowing totally the vast potential of what is in our hands. But ours is to be faithful to sow, by faith, the seeds of promise given to us--
We are to cast the seed of promise into the soil of life, generously, diligently, faithfully--
And His is to do the miracle-
To take all of the planting of faith seeds, and love seeds, and integrity seeds, and faithfulness seeds, into the moments of our lives when no one else is looking;
faithfulness to the gospel and spreading the good news;
serving our children, and loving and helping our spouses;
praying and believing when no sprout of answer is in sight.
And yet, in time, in His hands,
there will be such a bounty of beauty, a harvest from the seeds planted in life, that we will finally see, that
He was creating the miracle right beside us--the seeds will indeed sprout into a harvest of righteousness and redemption that will be beyond what we could have imagined.
But, the harvest of such sowing is only for those who plant, and water and cultivate and wait, by faith, believing in the promise of what lays ahead.
So, dear God, let us look at the flowers you have planted and see the potential beautiful harvest of our lives, if we will only believe in the seed potential in our lives right now,
which by faith will become a harvest of righteousness beyond measure.
I have lived to see the harvest of much planting and tending. It is truly a miracle to behold.