By Perrianne Brownback
Senior Pastor, The Abbey Church
Genesis 8:22 makes a beautiful promise about the God-birthed rhythms of creation: “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." To Texans a couple of weeks ago, the promise of heat following cold never seemed so welcome! Even while we huddled together in the record lows, we trusted that warmer days were on the way. Whether we quote this Scripture or not, we intuitively appreciate God’s faithful rhythms in the world He created.
Three words from Genesis 8:22 so quickly and clearly bridge the gap between that created world and the unseen spiritual truth it mirrors. “Seedtime and harvest” have volumes to speak into our lives, far beyond the agrarian growth cycle. SEEDS are God’s genius packaging for the perpetuation of anything good, and here we have the promise of hope and a future where “seedtime” is permanently paired with its consequence: HARVEST! The Bible is reminding us that, while expecting a harvest without having first planted might be ridiculous, likewise unthinkable would be planting seeds but failing to anticipate harvest!
During this past strange year, there have been many seeds planted by faithful men and women seeking to advance the Kingdom of God. Comfort, edification and strength have been proclaimed both from pulpits and zoom-links, in both well-crafted sermons and impromptu one-on-one conversations. We can all look back on this year and find lessons learned, but we can also be thankful that by the grace of God we were able to maintain our habit of SEED SOWN as ministers of the Gospel. (And that certainly includes the whole body of Christ, not just those who preach on Sunday officially.) Every time any one of us loved, prayed, gave, encouraged, showed up, and worshipped (in any location), SEEDTIME happened. Even when we didn’t feel like it, we kept on planting seeds!
As our part of the world begins its seasonal shift into spring, let us pause and reflect. Seedtime is always paired with harvest—it’s God’s law. Whether or not we see the harvest immediately (or even in our lifetimes), our seed-sowing for the Kingdom is never in vain! Choosing faithfulness during a time of challenge yields results because this is the way the universe works! Your labor will never remain fruitless, for seedtime always finds its match in harvest!
I think I’m not presumptuous (given the whole of Scripture) in praying a special “eyes to see” anointing on all of us in this moment! Why not receive the “strong encouragement” that Hebrews 6:18 promises? Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” If it’s not yet beautiful, it’s not yet time! Open our eyes, Lord, to the beauty of the harvest, even if it is still in transit!
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