When the Grain is Ripe
Mark 4:26-29

In first century agriculture, the farmer sowed the seed and waited. Even with modern technology, farming is still about sowing and waiting. Waiting for the grain to ripen for harvest.

Waiting is often filled with restlessness, even anxiety. Waiting for the birth of a baby, the report from surgery, the decision on hiring, the line at Taco Bell (what’s up with that?). We wait. Mind racing, feet pacing, fingers tapping. How will it turn out?

We preach the Gospel, share the Gospel, and live the Gospel. We sow the Gospel seed and we wait. Sometimes we see results – the Gospel seed bursts forth in a person’s life with confession, baptism, and discipleship. But we spend a lot of time waiting and watching and wondering. We feel restless, even anxious.

“But when the grain is ripe…”

Take courage. The harvest is coming. The Kingdom will not fail, for the King is victorious.

“Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.” –James 5:7