Scattering seeds and so on...

We had to leave quite unexpectedly for our home country on a medical furlough, but just before we left one of our friends here gave us a BAG full of sunflower seeds.  I really didn’t know what on earth to do with so much sunflower seed!  And I felt bad as he gave from what he had, which Is not much, and here I was not going to use them.  So I made a plan, well actually I just a had vision. There really was no plan.  I decided to scatter them all alongside our property and then when I came back our yard would have a fence of sunflowers!  Bright and beautiful yellow sunflowers welcoming us home!

Really great dream.  But in reality when we came home I saw one brightly yellow sunflower in the veggie garden and one more on the edge of the property.  I can admit that they are of the variety that have more than one head, so it looked really nice but not at all what I had envisioned.  Yes, I did have sunflowers but it could have been so much more had i thought it through!

And such is life without a plan.  Or having a really great idea or dream but then when it all is said and done not much is visible.  Yes, it might be a few nice petals here and there but nothing as compared to what it could have been!

As far as analogies goes this one might be quite a poor one and yes, I know that we are not always surrounded by the fruit of our labours and that we shouldn’t measure successes in a worldly manner.  But and this is a big BUT, sometimes we mess up just because we did not have a plan or stopped listening after God spoke the first few sentences of His plan for our lives….

We sometimes choose the path of least resistance.  Scattering seeds randomly and happily and hoping some might germinate…it sure looks good but the outcome was very doubtful!

Or we might rush things – we go for information dump just to tick it off our list.  We don’t see the person behind the lesson material – it took me about 10 minutes to scatter about 5000 sunflower seeds!  10 minutes…..ok, that was really dumb.  And I have two sunflower plants to show for my “labour”. 

1Cor 3:11 -15 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

  If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,

  his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work.

  If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward.

  If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

I guess all of these contemplations have come from reading these verses lately….and it made me think what will my “work” look like.  Will it withstand the fire?  I can only pray daily that I will stay obedient and follow God’s plan and ways and not my own lazy self and selfish ways.  This does not mean I will be perfect or that I will even see much fruit - that is up to God, but it does mean that I will try my best and give my all.

If i can have a say, I choose not to be saved as one saved by escaping through the flames but with one who built with gold.  My reason being not my own glory but to be the kind of labourer for my King that will make Him proud.  J 

Bella