The Law of the Harvest

Long-Term Results of Sowing Good Seed
June 10, 2021

We can all probably agree that this COVID-19 pandemic season has presented several challenges for both parents and children. While there were many downsides resulting from having to shelter in place during the pandemic, the upside is that it gave many families the opportunity to spend quality time together in creative ways. The time parents spend with their children is invaluable, particularly where teaching and modeling the values and principles of heaven are concerned. The seed we sow in our homes with our children will either produce a wonderful, bountiful harvest for eternity or lead to eternal destruction.

This was a lesson Jacob had to learn. Despite his great love for his son, Joseph, he sowed bad seeds by being partial and overly indulgent with him. His unwise course of action set the stage for the cruel actions of the older brothers towards their younger sibling. There were traits in Joseph’s character that needed to be corrected. God in His providential leading would do so over time.

On what must have been the darkest day of his young life, while Joseph was bound (literally and figuratively) for Egypt as a slave, his heart surely turned to his parents’ God. Years earlier, as a child, some good seeds were also sown as he was taught to love and fear Him. Bright-eyed and filled with anticipation, he listened intently as Jacob recalled the vision God had given him when he was all alone, exiled from his beloved home. From early childhood Jacob had instructed Joseph that the God of heaven always kept His promises to protect, provide and care for His children. The greatest of these promises was to provide a redeemer to save all humanity from their sins.

All of the precious promises of God that Joseph had learned in his childhood flooded his heart and mind. In his most distressing moment Joseph made the decision that the God of his parents would be his God too. He prayed earnestly that the God who created heaven and earth would be his God and be by his side.

During the course of his early life, Jacob had not always made the best decisions, but here’s what he got right: In his home, while his children were young, he decided to maintain an altar of worship to ensure that they learned about the love of God and His redemptive plans for His earthly children. Jacob made it a priority to sow good seed among his sons to counteract the allurements of the world and the evil work of the enemy. As parents, let us invite our children to the family altar in our home and sow good seed.

By Tyrone Douglas, Children’s Ministries Director