Plant a seed – reap a harvest … advertisers do it all the time. Ever wonder why they run the same 30-second TV ad back-to-back? They are planting a seed so that they might reap a harvest sometime in the future. Yesterday’s newspaper was thick with all sorts of enticing advertisements. Those ads where filled with pretty pictures, attractively displayed, arranged in a particular order, with unbelievable prices … plant a seed – reap a harvest. “Door buster” specials are being offered. “Early bird” bargains are there for those who are willing to get up early to “beat the crowds” – plant a seed – reap a harvest. Advertisers do it all the time.
Paul ran a direct mail advertising agency out of his home. He only advertised for Cadillac automobile dealerships. Every month Paul would have the dealerships mail out a large four page “newsletter” to people throughout America that fell into a particular income bracket … every month, to the same people, some of them already owned a Cadillac, but others just fit the profile of a Cadillac owner. Paul had the advertising philosophy that they might not be in the market for a new car this month or next month nor even 6 months from now, but when they are, they will remember the name of the dealership that mailed that newsletter to their home every month. Paul was very successful in what he did … plant a seed – reap a harvest.
And for us Christians, how do we plant a seed to reap a harvest? It happened kind of spontaneously. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t thought out. It just kind of blurted out one afternoon. People were always asking, “Having a good day?” or would state, “Have a nice day” upon my departure. Out of the blue one afternoon I responded with, “Every day that I am alive and Jesus is on the throne is a good day!” BINGO … plant a seed – reap a harvest. It was quick, non-confrontational and simple … just a simple “seed” … a idea … a concept that might not have occurred to them before … now, it was planted in their hearing and in their gray matter. Eventually God will bring the harvest as that seed takes root and grows within their spirit.
We are a living advertisement for God. We are a breathing 30-second ad for Christ. We are a moving billboard for the Kingdom of God. We come in contact with more people in the course of an average day than we can ever imagine. Most of the conversation is just simple greetings in passing that actually doesn’t change from person to person – the person on the elevator, the person taking our money in the check out lane in the grocery store, the clerk who assists us at the local convenience store, the individual who hands us the coffee at Starbucks, the waitress who brings us our food – just average, everyday kind of people – some we see often, others we will never see again – but they have been placed in our pathway by God (or at least that is the way I look at it) because God expects us to offer a kind word, a hopeful word, a grace-filled word that just might grow into a mighty harvest at some point in their future. Isn’t that what he meant with those words recorded in Mark 16:15, “Then he said, “Go into the world. Go everywhere and announce the Message of God's good news to one and all.’” (The Message)
Plant a seed – reap a harvest!
Quote for today: In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering. Howard Hendricks
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