2023 Theme

In her book, Silver Boxes, the late Florence Littauer told the story of her father who always wanted to be a writer.  He made some attempts, but gave up.

As she concluded the details of the story, Littauer made this sobering and profound observation about her father’s dreams by quoting Oliver Wendell Holmes who said, “Many of us die with the music still in us.”

Her observation speaks of unfilled potential. Missed opportunities. Wasted talent. And a failure to grow.

This year our preaching and writing theme, “Sowing Seeds for Spiritual Growth,” will speak to these issues and many more. Every Monday, we will offer some thoughts about spiritual growth and devolvement. Currently, I’m also developing this as a sermon series to be used in meetings.

For growth to occur, we must adhere to a very simple, universal principle–the law of sowing and reaping. The apostle Paul expressed it this way in Galatians 6:7-8.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”

This divine law cannot be dismissed. Ignored. Or flaunted. The law of sowing and reaping applies to spiritual growth. Just like you cannot sow corn and expect to harvest beans. You cannot sow seeds of carnality, corruption and carelessness, and expect a spiritual harvest. Nor can you anticipate a harvest when you fail to sow the seed.

That’s the first law. You reap what you sow.

The second part to this law is you reap later than you sow. Spiritual growth does not occur over night. It’s requires cultivation. Fertilizing. And watering the seed. We know that’s so in the natural realm. It’s also true regarding spiritual matters. That’s why we are dedicating the entire year to keeping this topic in the forefront of our minds. It’s not enough to begin. You must continue the process until harvest time.

Thirdly, you reap more than you sow.

A seed. Small. Seemingly insignificant. Forgotten. But filled with potential for growth. For good. For greatness. A single seed of corn can grow a huge stalk with one or two ears of corn. A single ear of field corn can have as many as 700 seeds. So, one seed reproduced itself 1400 times. Incredible!

If you daily sow seeds of love, joy, peace, and goodness, they will produce a bountiful harvest and come back to you a thousand fold.

One final, important point. God wants you to grow. Growth is not optional. The Bible exhorts. “Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 3:18). This is a direct command. It’s just as important as the command in Acts 2:38. “Repent and be baptized for the remission of sins.”

Furthermore, the understood subject of the command is “you.” This applies to everyone reading this post, as well as yours truly. God wants his people to strive toward reaching their potential and achieve the purpose for which they were created.

In his book, The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth, John Maxwell writes in the preface that growth is as unique as each individual person. Then he offers this insight.

“To discover your purpose, you need to grow in your self-awareness. To become a better human being, you need to grow in character. To advance your career, you need to grow in your skills. To be a better parent, you need to grow in your relationships. To reach your financial goals, you need to grow in your knowledge about how money works. To enrich your soul, you need to grow spiritually.”

While growth impacts every area of our lives, it’s that last sentence that will be our main focus in 2023. Enriching the soul. That points us to God. His Word. And being discipled to follow Jesus.

Don’t die with your music still inside of you. Determine to sow seeds that enrich your life. Encourage others. Edify your brethren. And result in a heavenly harvest.

–Ken Weliever, The Preacherman