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SUPPLEMENT TO THE GOD’S OAKS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS SERMON
Note: Barry didn’t have time to add these points the sermon so he thought he would complete the thoughts of the sermon in this article. These are not Barry's unique thoughts but a compilation of thoughts from various resources.)
In the forest, a small acorn falls to the ground. Four to six weeks later the acorn sprouts into a small oak sapling. Over the next several years, it will grow into a mighty oak tree. As Christians we need to grow and realize that if we are ever going to become that strong & tall oak tree that produces thousands of acorns, we must first become determined that we will make it through those days when it is all we can do to take the storms, sleet & snow. Each oak tree currently on the face of this earth began merely as a tiny little acorn plant. In order for us to reach our oak tree destiny, we must grow step-by-step too.
As we mature in the faith, we need to implant the spiritual truths & growth we have received from the gospel in others. “…receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (Jas.1:21). The word implanted means rooted, fixed, grown, strong, thus emphasizing the necessity of a thorough reception of the word in the heart before it can accomplish its purpose of “saving your souls”.
Anyone who ever plants anything has faith. To plant a seed is to believe in the future. But planting trees means you believe in a future you most likely will not get to see. Unless you’re very young when you plant a tree, someone else is going to live in its shade one day and that’s how it’s supposed to work. That’s also how it works in the kingdom of God.
In I Cor.3:9. Paul uses an agricultural metaphor to describe the work of the Gospel. He says, “We are all co-laborers together in the same field.” One person plants. Another person waters. At the end of the day we all belong to God's grace. It’s God who gives us life. Not Paul. Not Apollos. Not anyone else. It all flows from God’s grace.
Paul describes God’s work of bringing about life as a process that happens over a period of time through the work of many hands. When growth does spring forth, there’s already been a lot of effort expended and time invested. Think about all the people who planted and sowed into your life over time. Some of them probably never got to see you become the person you are today, but they were a vital part of the process.
Jesus referred to this in John 4:35-38: 35 Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. 36 Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. 37 Thus the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. 38 I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor.” (NIV)
If we have to see instant results or instant returns on our investments, our time and efforts, then we are surely in the wrong business. Following Jesus means we play for the long game and we plant for the future. Faith allows us to embrace the notion that what we do right now matters down the road, past our immediate line of sight.
Just because we cannot immediately see the results of our efforts or control their outcome does not mean they are wasted. Sometimes those are the most important things we ever do. Sometimes we have to give & give of ourselves while trusting that what we do now will make a different tomorrow, or the next day or the next year in the hands of God. So it’s not that we never get to see the results of what we plant. Sometimes it just takes a long time to see them.
If we want to change the world, sometimes we just have to be patient & keep on planting. Sometimes we just have to keep watering and trust that God will take what we do & cause it to grow at the right time. Following Jesus is a call to live for something bigger than ourselves and for something bigger than the present moment. It’s a call to work for a future we cannot yet see. It calls us to plant today so someone else can enjoy the shade tomorrow. That’s how it’s supposed to work.
We need to remember that it takes time to grow a mighty oak tree. And it takes time to grow mighty oak tree faith in the lives of others, especially our children. They have a small, sapling kind of faith. But if we continue to care for that sapling faith, it will one day be a mighty oak faith. Remember this – growing mighty oak tree faith doesn’t happen in months or weeks. It happens as we invest in kids & families for years and in some cases, even decades. But if we remain faithful, if we keep caring for that tiny sapling, one day, we won’t be looking down at a sapling. Instead we will be looking up at mighty oaks that God used us to help grow.
