October 2nd, 2024
by Ben Fresch
by Ben Fresch
That first sub-70-degree day brings all the familiar fall feelings—suddenly, you’re craving apple cider, ready for a pumpkin farm visit, and itching to throw on a hoodie. Summer begins to fall to autumn, and for a lot of us, it’s our favorite season. But for the farmer, fall is about so much more than just cozy feelings. Fall is harvest season—the time when all the hard work of spring and summer pays off, and the seeds planted, watered, and tended finally yield their bounty.
I’ve always enjoyed change. I guess it’s part of being a millennial—we’ve had to adapt to things changing faster than we can keep up. But lately, God has been nudging me to slow down, to be present and look for Him in the everyday, in the small moments of life, including this season. And that prompting has caused me to pause and ask what He’s teaching me now, not just look forward to what could be or what I hope is coming.
So I’ve been thinking a lot about harvest—not just the physical one, but the spiritual one. You see, I tend to rush through fall because I’m all about Christmas (the best season, if you ask me). But what if, in my rush to get to the next thing, I miss what God has prepared for me right now? What if there’s something He’s asking me to harvest, something planted in a previous season that’s ready to come to fruition now?
How often do we miss out on what’s ready because we’re too focused on what’s ahead or stuck looking back at what used to be? What if, in all this rushing, we overlook the things God planted for us to reap today?
Now, I’m no farmer. I can barely keep a houseplant alive, let alone a field of crops. But I do know this: we are all called to sow, plant, reap, and harvest. These aren’t just farming principles; they’re spiritual ones, too. And just like a farmer, we need to consider what we’re planting and harvesting.
From the very beginning, God has been the ultimate "farmer". In Genesis, we see Him planting life itself in the Garden of Eden, sowing the seeds of everything we experience today. Every new day, every act of grace, every answered prayer is harvested from what God has been planting since the beginning of creation. And the greatest seed He ever sowed? Jesus—our salvation. Through His life, death, and resurrection, we get to live in the harvest of that ultimate sacrifice.
It’s easy to overlook this daily harvest, to get so used to it that we start taking it for granted. One of my favorite prayers comes from David in Psalm 51: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” That’s a prayer I come back to often because it’s easy to lose sight of the beauty in what He’s already done for us.
God continues to sow in our lives today. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him (James 1:17). He plants through His Spirit, through Jesus, and through the people He puts in our path.
When I think about the seeds planted in my own life, I immediately think of my grandma. She was the closest thing to a saint I’ve ever known. After losing three of her five children and her husband, she remained full of joy. Her faith never wavered, and she made it her mission to introduce her grandkids to Jesus. At a time when my parents didn’t yet know the Lord, she’d pick me and my siblings up every Sunday for church and even take us to the Wednesday night programs. She was the one who sowed the first seeds of faith in my life, and I’m still reaping the benefits of that today. Knowing Jesus is the greatest harvest, and I owe so much of that to her.
All of us have people who have sown into our faith journeys—parents, grandparents, pastors, friends. They planted seeds that we’re now reaping. But here’s the thing: the harvest isn’t just for us to enjoy. We have a responsibility to sow again.
There’s a Scripture we often hear around this time of year:
“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” - Matthew 9:36-38
It’s interesting how Jesus views the helpless crowds as a harvest. And the laborers? That’s us. Jesus wasn’t talking about crops or fields; He was talking about people, souls ready for the message of the Gospel. The seeds had been planted, but there weren’t enough people to help bring them to maturity.
Immediately after this statement, Jesus calls the twelve disciples, commissioning them to go out and bring in the harvest. They weren’t harvesting their own crops—they were gathering the fruits of what had been planted generations before.
The same goes for us. We may not have planted the seeds we’re called to harvest. They might have been sown by generations before us, by people we’ve never met. But the harvest is ready, and we are the laborers God is calling to go out into the field.
Today, you might be in a season of planting, or maybe you’re in a season of harvesting—or perhaps a little bit of both. Both are vital. We need to harvest when the crops are ripe, but we also need to keep sowing for the future. The seeds we plant today will grow into what the next generation reaps.
Paul mentions this concept in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 | I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
The idea of teamwork is strong here. The idea that we don’t have to be the ones to do EVERYTHING is also a relief. But the reality is we are either planting, watering, or harvesting. And all of it is done with God and for God.
So what are we sowing for the next generation? Are we sowing seeds of unity? Are we sowing seeds of hope? Are we sowing seeds of peace? Or are they the opposite? The seeds we plant now will shape the future of our faith, our church, and the world. We can’t just focus on what we’re harvesting for ourselves; we have to think about what we’re leaving for those who come after us.
This is both a challenge and an encouragement. Maybe you’ve been planting seeds in someone’s life and haven’t seen any signs of growth yet. Remember, our job may be to plant or to harvest, but not always both. Sometimes, we plant the seeds, and it’s someone else’s job to bring in the harvest.
So, let’s slow down and take the time to keep planting, keep sowing, and trust God with the growth. And when the harvest comes, let’s be ready to do the work, not just for ourselves, but for all the ones to come after us.
I’ve always enjoyed change. I guess it’s part of being a millennial—we’ve had to adapt to things changing faster than we can keep up. But lately, God has been nudging me to slow down, to be present and look for Him in the everyday, in the small moments of life, including this season. And that prompting has caused me to pause and ask what He’s teaching me now, not just look forward to what could be or what I hope is coming.
So I’ve been thinking a lot about harvest—not just the physical one, but the spiritual one. You see, I tend to rush through fall because I’m all about Christmas (the best season, if you ask me). But what if, in my rush to get to the next thing, I miss what God has prepared for me right now? What if there’s something He’s asking me to harvest, something planted in a previous season that’s ready to come to fruition now?
How often do we miss out on what’s ready because we’re too focused on what’s ahead or stuck looking back at what used to be? What if, in all this rushing, we overlook the things God planted for us to reap today?
Now, I’m no farmer. I can barely keep a houseplant alive, let alone a field of crops. But I do know this: we are all called to sow, plant, reap, and harvest. These aren’t just farming principles; they’re spiritual ones, too. And just like a farmer, we need to consider what we’re planting and harvesting.
From the very beginning, God has been the ultimate "farmer". In Genesis, we see Him planting life itself in the Garden of Eden, sowing the seeds of everything we experience today. Every new day, every act of grace, every answered prayer is harvested from what God has been planting since the beginning of creation. And the greatest seed He ever sowed? Jesus—our salvation. Through His life, death, and resurrection, we get to live in the harvest of that ultimate sacrifice.
It’s easy to overlook this daily harvest, to get so used to it that we start taking it for granted. One of my favorite prayers comes from David in Psalm 51: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” That’s a prayer I come back to often because it’s easy to lose sight of the beauty in what He’s already done for us.
God continues to sow in our lives today. Every good and perfect gift comes from Him (James 1:17). He plants through His Spirit, through Jesus, and through the people He puts in our path.
When I think about the seeds planted in my own life, I immediately think of my grandma. She was the closest thing to a saint I’ve ever known. After losing three of her five children and her husband, she remained full of joy. Her faith never wavered, and she made it her mission to introduce her grandkids to Jesus. At a time when my parents didn’t yet know the Lord, she’d pick me and my siblings up every Sunday for church and even take us to the Wednesday night programs. She was the one who sowed the first seeds of faith in my life, and I’m still reaping the benefits of that today. Knowing Jesus is the greatest harvest, and I owe so much of that to her.
All of us have people who have sown into our faith journeys—parents, grandparents, pastors, friends. They planted seeds that we’re now reaping. But here’s the thing: the harvest isn’t just for us to enjoy. We have a responsibility to sow again.
There’s a Scripture we often hear around this time of year:
“When He saw the crowds, He had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” - Matthew 9:36-38
It’s interesting how Jesus views the helpless crowds as a harvest. And the laborers? That’s us. Jesus wasn’t talking about crops or fields; He was talking about people, souls ready for the message of the Gospel. The seeds had been planted, but there weren’t enough people to help bring them to maturity.
Immediately after this statement, Jesus calls the twelve disciples, commissioning them to go out and bring in the harvest. They weren’t harvesting their own crops—they were gathering the fruits of what had been planted generations before.
The same goes for us. We may not have planted the seeds we’re called to harvest. They might have been sown by generations before us, by people we’ve never met. But the harvest is ready, and we are the laborers God is calling to go out into the field.
Today, you might be in a season of planting, or maybe you’re in a season of harvesting—or perhaps a little bit of both. Both are vital. We need to harvest when the crops are ripe, but we also need to keep sowing for the future. The seeds we plant today will grow into what the next generation reaps.
Paul mentions this concept in 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 | I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.
The idea of teamwork is strong here. The idea that we don’t have to be the ones to do EVERYTHING is also a relief. But the reality is we are either planting, watering, or harvesting. And all of it is done with God and for God.
So what are we sowing for the next generation? Are we sowing seeds of unity? Are we sowing seeds of hope? Are we sowing seeds of peace? Or are they the opposite? The seeds we plant now will shape the future of our faith, our church, and the world. We can’t just focus on what we’re harvesting for ourselves; we have to think about what we’re leaving for those who come after us.
This is both a challenge and an encouragement. Maybe you’ve been planting seeds in someone’s life and haven’t seen any signs of growth yet. Remember, our job may be to plant or to harvest, but not always both. Sometimes, we plant the seeds, and it’s someone else’s job to bring in the harvest.
So, let’s slow down and take the time to keep planting, keep sowing, and trust God with the growth. And when the harvest comes, let’s be ready to do the work, not just for ourselves, but for all the ones to come after us.
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