In late winter, early spring, my dad “Got The Ground Ready.” That meant all the equipment had been repaired or replaced and made ready for “Plantin’ Time.” He had all the seed & fertilizer waiting for that narrow window of time…when the ground temperature & moisture were right. Nothing was more important than getting the seed in the ground. The harsh reality is, we will harvest what we plant.

We live in an age and time with a focus on the harvest. We are obsessed with having…stuff, position, wealth, comforts, happiness, free time, peace, confidence, relationships, pleasures…and the list goes on. When we don’t have the harvest or when our harvest is in danger, or not as expected, anxiety kicks in with fear right behind. But no one wants to talk about the harsh reality of seed time and harvest.

It all begins with knowing what you want to harvest! This is the “WHY”!

At one time my dad farmed over 2,000 acres of rice & soybeans. My dad was a sharecropper. Other people owned the land and got a percentage of the harvest as rent. The farm consisted of several fields scattered over several miles. Each field was unique in size, terrain, soil type and access to water. These factors along with the estimated cost & return for either soybeans or rice determined what he planted in each field. This decision drove everything that happened leading up to planting day. If it was raining, we worked on the equipment. If the ground was dry enough, we were in the field discing & preparing the soil. Dad knew time was precious…so he was intentional. A good farmer never forgets the “WHY”!

 This year in Bible Study Fellowship we have been studying the harvest, Revelation. It’s full of mystery, harsh realities and things that make people uncomfortable. But the bottom line… God presents a crystal-clear reality of His Farm Principle: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” Galatians 6:7

In Revelation 20:11-15 God clearly tells us that everyone will face the harvester. “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.”

Our choice…of our “WHY” will determine…our harvest. Only those found in the Lamb’s Book of Life will receive the harvest of His reward.  Is your name written in the Book of Life?