Last night, I was enthralled as I watched President Obama
give his farewell address. I was glued to his backing of globally un-biased
unity and knocking of bubble-like inclusivity. Each sentence delivered was
perfectly crafted to evoke emotion and personal reflection. However, I had one
rotating thought throughout the speech – “Where’s Sasha?”
Thanks to our good friends at google and other super
resourceful individuals, I discovered the reason she did not attend. Sasha
Obama was home preparing for an exam she had the next morning.
If any, this was Sasha’s perfect time to pull the “my dad’s
the president card”. Instead, someone
pulled her card and encouraged her to invest in her studies. Sasha’s sacrifice of time and sowing into an
evening of preparation will provide a return but that is only the beginning.
I believe that our President and First-Lady invested in
their daughter that night and equally, Sasha invested into studying. As parents, we need to make the tough decisions that will sow/
invest in our children's futures.
In life and love of God, there is a return on effort.
We must stand before God in the midnight of death therefore we
must LIVE for God everyday!
We don’t work to reap God’s love - we work to reveal Gods
love for us to others
Galatians 6:7-9
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will
always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own
sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those
who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9
So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will
reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.
When a farmer plants an apple seed they expect more than just
an apple.
Just the same – your seed can return more! Sow liberally and
be mindful of your seeds.
Expect the harvest!
I am not suggesting that you arbitrarily sow into projects
and people with a hard spirit of reciprocity. The concept of “I give and you
owe me” – is wrong.
People don’t owe you anything and unfortunately they will
let you down more often than appreciated. That’s not your problem. God gives
increase (1 Corinthians 3:6)
Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same
measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
Avoid keeping score.
Give without expectation of what “it” is but understand that somehow “it”
is coming.
Give what you want and you will receive what God knows you
need
- Forgiveness
- Peace
- Love
- Happiness
- Acceptance
- Encouragement
- A miracle
God not only meets your need but also exceeds your
expectations.
Recently, the Clemson football team, won the highly
anticipated college national championship. One of the star players was quarterback,
Deshaun Watson.
In 2006, Watson and his family moved from a cramped
apartment to a home with enough space for his mom and three siblings. The house
was given to them as part of the Habitat for humanity program. When Watson’s
mom, Deann, received her keys, NFL Running Back Warrick Dunn was there and Deshaun
Watson was only 11 years old.
Cool story, but here is the part that excites me. When
Deshaun’s mom was fed up with her small apartment, she found the Habitat for
humanity program and diligently began her process for home ownership. The story
says that she committed over 300 hours of service building other people’s homes
before she received her keys.
On the day Ms. Watson received her keys, the habitat program
had more than just a home waiting for her. Because of then Atlanta Falcon,
Warrick Dunn, she not only walked into a new home, every room she entered was
full of furniture and even the refrigerator was stocked with food.
Deann Watson’s sowing into other’s created her harvest
Warrick Dunn’s sowing into this family created a harvest
Deshaun’s sowing into football practice, sowing into his
future and sowing into every second of that game created a harvest.
Keep sowing! Expect your harvest!
And when you become a diamond you will see why life had to
pressure you!
