What Will Be Your Harvest?
Fall is finally here and with it the harvest. As we think about harvest it would benefit us to think about the spiritual harvest we want to have in the lives of our children. Words are like seeds. Once spoken they are planted in the hearts of the hearer. They too produce a harvest.
In 1 Corinthians 13:1 Paul says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but I do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” NET Bible In I Corinthians 14: 6-8, Paul goes on to give a great commentary on words He says, “If I don’t address you plainly with some insight or truth or proclamation or teaching, what help am I to you? If musical instruments—flutes, say, or harps—aren’t played so that each note is distinct and in tune, how will anyone be able to catch the melody and enjoy the music? If the trumpet call can’t be distinguished, will anyone show up for the battle? The Message
We may speak lovingly with good intentions but if we do not follow through our words are nothing more than lies. Lies are like weeds. They are good for choking out the things we hope to grow in the hearts of our children. Saying one thing and doing another is never loving in the end.
Truth is powerful and can be dangerous. A knife in the hand of surgeon saves lives, in the hands of a murderer it takes them. Paul warns us in Ephesians 4:15 that truth is best served on the platter of love.
Children are listening. They often believe blindly what they hear. Let’s speak the truth in love even in our daily conversations that they overhear and especially when we speak to them. Words can’t be erased or unheard from the heart. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:7 “Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows.” What will we harvest from the words we’ve sown this year?