A harvest beyond my wildest dreams...........

Start children off on the way they should go,
and even when they are old they will not turn from it.  Proverbs 22:6

Ryan didn't always show it but he was a scholar.  He was a person who had an aptitude for study.  However, Ryan didn't spend his time studying the things of this world, but rather he studied the things of God.  He wanted to know more, grow more, and as a result...live more.   I have been pondering how God wants my life to be permanently changed (not in the physical sense as that is obvious), but in the spiritual sense.  What part of my life does God want refined through calling my son home? 

I have always been one to live by faith but haven't spent a lot of time building up my knowledge. I wouldn't consider myself a scholar. Ultimately, I think faith is what is sustaining me right now through the most difficult journey of my life.  I am so grateful for that faith.  But what I feel like God is poking at me about is that I could have more knowledge to go along with that faith.  I need to be willing to do the work and dig deeper into His Word to gain a greater understanding of His heart, His love and His teachings.  I can only imagine what my life will be like with the gift of faith God has given me, coupled with a deeper knowledge and understanding.  I envision a harvest beyond my wildest dreams.

This morning I was reading Matthew 13 and it was amazing how it echoed my previous thoughts on whether Ryan's home going would generate permanent or temporary changes in people's lives;  what are the "seeds of truth" landing on and what is being produced because of where the seeds have landed?

Take the time and really read God's words......

Matthew 13:1-23 

^1-3 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
^3-8"What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn't put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.


⁹"Are you listening to this? Really listening?"


¹⁰The disciples came up and asked, "Why do you tell stories?"
^11-15He replied, "You've been given insight into God's kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn't been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That's why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they're blue in the face and not get it. I don't want Isaiah's forecast repeated all over again:

Your ears are open but you don't hear a thing.
Your eyes are awake but you don't see a thing.
The people are blockheads!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won't have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won't have to look,
so they won't have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.


^16-17"But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.


^18-19"Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn't take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person's heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.


^20-21"The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.

²²"The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.

²³"The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams."

God's word never disappoints me.  It is the backbone of my faith and my life.  It is what soothes and comforts me as God's words and promises fill me with love, hope, peace and confidence.  But there is still so much to learn.  I am permanently committed to studying God's word more; becoming that scholar who knows more, grows more, and as a result...lives more.

I wish Ryan were here so I could thank him again, in person, for modeling to me a life of passion and living large.  But I know he has an awareness of how my life has been altered because in Luke 15:7 Jesus says ⁷ I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.   So there IS rejoicing and there IS an ability to see what is taking place down here on earth.  I pray Ryan becomes exhausted dancing and celebrating with Jesus and others that have gone before us over all the changed lives.