4 Simple Steps to Sowing Good Fruit
So many times in our Christian lives, it is on our hearts to share with those who need encouragement. In fact, we are called to be sharers of the Word. The question is … do we do what we are called to do? Or are we more like Paul, knowing what we should do, yet doing the opposite of that?
We get bogged down with life. Work takes our time. Marriage requires considerable effort. Parenting is difficult and time-consuming. Family and friends outside the home require things of us. Our churches need our help.
There is so much that is required of our earthly lives, that it is easy to get off track and lose sight of the things we should be doing for our eternal existence.
He who observes the wind will not sow; and he who regards the clouds will not reap. (Ecclesiastes 11:4 ESV)
We take our eyes of the sowing and reaping because we are too overwhelmed by the wind and the clouds … those things that occupy every moment of our awake hours.
We get comfortable, feeling safe in our surroundings, confident in our works. Sometimes we forget that there are masses of people in this world who don’t know the love of Jesus; who haven’t experienced his word.
We know what we should be doing but we just don’t know how we are going to have the time to do one more thing.
How to Make the Change
So how do we go from wind and cloud watchers to reapers and sowers? How do we get our focus back on the things of Christ instead of putting all our attention on our “to-do” list and what others require of us?
• It’s simple really. We listen to what God says in his beautiful book of instructions. To do this, we have to make time in our busy lives to spend time reading the Bible, not only for the sake of reading, but for the purpose of understanding and putting into practice what we learn. It is hard to share what we do not know, so we must understand before we act.
• Making time for prayer and worship is crucial. That act of intimate conversation with the Savior gives us the guidance and wisdom we need to be doers, not just wishful thinkers. In order to show others how to pray, we have to actively engage in prayer ourselves.
• We go out and share the gospel with others. We engage others with compassion for their situations. We speak hope to the hopeless and love to the unloved. We speak truth into those who are bound in lies. We speak LIFE!
• It is also important to keep in mind that our actions speak louder than our words. Are we living lives that imitate Christ? Do our actions match up to the gospel? Are we setting good examples of Christian living? People are always watching.
There are so many ways to reap and sow into the people around us. All we really need to do is open our eyes and really look.
The gospel is life…. life at its fullest. God wants us to share that life with those around us.
Don’t be a watcher of the wind. Let the wind carry you to the ones who need his word.
