Full Satisfaction

"The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops"- 2 Timothy 2:6 (NIV).

Today is Farmer's Day at our high school. Everyone gets to wear overalls, plaid shirts, and boots. Red bandannas are hanging out of back pockets. There's a John Deere tractor parked out front and many are taking advantage; making it a Kodak moment with their fellow farmers. It's a fun day; a comfortable day. In reality, farming is hard work. Today's Scripture says a hardworking farmer, who plows, plants, and harvests a crop, is to have their share. If they don't, then the farmer is nothing more than a slave. They are forced to work. God doesn't force us to work, but He also doesn't make the work easy simply because we are obedient to the call. There's a lot of lessons to be learned in farming: trust, discipline, diligence. It doesn't come without toil and it doesn't happen fast. Crops are labor intensive. Because we are not slaves, we get to choose whether or not to go into the fields and it's an everyday choice. Those who choose not to go are sluggards. "A sluggard's appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied" (Proverbs 13:4). The "share of the crops" means to be "fully satisfied." We all want to be fully satisfied, sluggards and diligent alike. Do you understand the Scripture? "Sluggards do not plow in season; so at harvest time they look but find nothing" (20:4). Jesus said the fields are ready, but the workers, the farmers, are few (Matthew 9:37). Harvest time is coming and Jesus has the sickle in His hand. We are not slaves, but called to be fellow farmers in His fields. We will be the first to receive if we are diligent. So, pull on your overalls and pull up your boots. There is full satisfaction awaiting you.