Reaping the Harvest -- A Parable

A certain farmer made an amazing discovery. He discovered that at any given time, somewhere in the world, crops were being harvested. He knew that the goal of all farmers was to reap an abundant harvest. So he decided that it would be best if he quit expending energy and resources cultivating, planting, fertilizing, irrigating and weeding. He would get the best return for his investment if he would concentrate upon going to where the harvest was.

The farmer put his plan into action. He was overjoyed with the results. No longer did he have to spend his limited financial resources on plows and tractors, on fertilizers and irrigation equipment. He only needed harvesting equipment and transportation. He no longer had to wait from the time of planting until the time of harvest to reap the rewards of his labour. Every day was harvest day. His only wasted time was when he traveled, and with a sound strategy, that could be minimized.

The farmer was so successful in his new approach to farming that all his fellow farmers decided to follow his example. Soon the land was filled with harvesters. Plows lay idle. Irrigation equipment rusted. Fertilizer remained unsold in the warehouses. Except for harvest time the fields were empty. Everyone was focused on their primary task of reaping the harvest.

Then someone noticed that the bumper crops that they had previously experienced were beginning to be fewer and fewer. Some places produced so little that transport costs could not be recovered, let alone any profit. No crops were being planted. No fertilizer was being applied. Irrigation had ceased. Only weeds were growing.

Soon, there was nothing left to harvest. 

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God’s fellow workers;
(I Cor. 3:6-9a NIV)

PRAY THAT IN OUR RESULTS-ORIENTED EVANGELISTIC ZEAL WE WILL NOT FORGET TO PLANT, WATER, AND FERTILIZE FOR CONTINUED HARVESTS.

MAY WE ALWAYS GIVE GOD THE CREDIT FOR THE HARVEST.