A few summers ago, my family and I stayed with one of my wife’s relatives on an Ohio farm. It was a rather large farm at over one hundred acres. Early one morning, the kids were out playing in the yard and the farmer asked if we wanted to take the kids for a tractor ride while he fertilized the crops. When it came time for my daughter and me to go on the tractor, I talked to the farmer about how long he’d already been out in his field that morning. We talked about how much work goes into farming a lucrative crop, some of the problems that a farmer faces with planting too early or too late, etc. It was clear to me that the success of that man’s farm was proportional to the time and work he put into it.
How can we apply this to our lives? I’m not a farmer and neither are most of you. So, let’s start with thinking about something we want to be successful in. A healthy, loving relationship with your husband or wife? Raising your kids to be godly men and women someday? Sharing the Gospel? Consider these verses in Proverbs 24:30-34, “I passed by the field of a sluggard, by the vineyard of a man lacking sense, and behold, it was all overgrown with thorns; the ground was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. Then I saw and considered it; I looked and received instruction. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man.” A solid unwavering faith in God doesn’t just happen. It takes time to read His Word; it takes time to pray.
Over time, we get to see God’s work in our lives and that strengthens our faith. A strong, healthy marriage doesn’t just happen, it takes a lot of work and nurturing. It takes spending time together, it takes communicating with one another, it takes trust and loving and submitting to one another. Do you want to raise godly children? Your kids need relationship from you, now! They need you to teach them about God’s Word, they need you to love them and spend time with them, they need you to teach them right from wrong and to lovingly discipline them and teach them that being under authority is healthy.
All of this takes hard work and a lot of time. Let’s not be sluggards about the things that are important to us. Let’s not look back on our lives to see them overgrown with thorns, covered in nettles and our walls broken down. Let’s not say, “Oops, I missed that opportunity.” Let’s resolve to work hard and spend time on the things that matter in our life.
Laboring with you,
Billy
Posted in A Word from the Pastor