Day 55: Years to Harvest

Matthew 13:24-58; Leviticus 19

I love the image of the pearl and the treasure.  A person does not have enough to keep everything they have and purchase the field or pearl; first they must sell everything in order to afford it.  A person who wants to be saved can’t have the things of this world as well as the beauty of Jesus in their heart.  There is not room to fully serve the Lord.

All the law and the prophets can be summed up by Jesus’ great words: Love the Lord with all your heart, and love your neighbor as yourself.  The commands of the Old Testament are beautiful at times, because they talk about leaving grain and grapes for the poor, not to make fun of a deaf or blind person, correct those that need correcting, but don’t hold grudges or be angry.  The more I read these things, the more I realize how prevalent they are in society.  But it all really comes down to loving God and loving others. I hope that God takes hold of the hearts of believers and helps us to see how to really live.  At the same time, I pray that God takes hold of the hearts of those that have not accepted him and help them to understand that God is the only thing that can satisfy.

Faith is a huge factor and sometimes underestimated:  plant a tree and wait until the 5th year to harvest from it!   I’m not a farmer, but that kind of seems crazy.  The point of course is, that God will provide but a person must have faith and patience that he will provide in his timing.  There are people out there who are struggling to be patient, and God isn't concerned about the time it takes, but the timing of his plan. Sometimes people are going to have to wait longer for answers to their prayers than they thought. But, God will not disappoint us, we just have to use those times of waiting to focus on The Lord and grow in our faith.