Plant or Water

Before I recall ever going to church, I recall having a set of Children’s Bible Stories that our parents bought for us. It was before I knew how to read, but I loved looking at the pictures. I remember seeing a beautiful depiction of Jacob’s Ladder and…believing. My parents had planted a seed.

A few years later, I recall a man carrying a Bible stopping briefly to tell us children to be sure to read our Bible. I could read by then, but until that point, I had never considered actually reading the Bible. Our family Bible was huge, so it never occurred to me that reading the whole thing was something that should be attempted. Until that day. That man watered the seed that my parents had planted.

When I became an adult, I never forgot my goal of reading the entire Bible, but I put it off because I had no real plan for accomplishing it. Until I began attending a church that provided copies of Our Daily Bread. Our Daily Bread has a Read the Bible in a Year reading plan. Still, I put it off because it was not the beginning of the year. A few months later, however, it was and I was suddenly reminded that now was that time to start reading the Bible. It was January 1, 2010.

I expected reading the Bible to be difficult, but it was quite the contrary. The knowledge that I gained was instantaneous. And I always remember the scriptures right when I need to. The Holy Spirit brought the increase.

The things we do for or say to others has the potential to become seeds we plant or the seeds we water in the lives of others. As children of God, we must be careful to do so and believe that the Holy Spirit will bring the increase.