Sowing Seeds for Eternity

A dear friend of ours passed away yesterday.  He was not a young man but his illness seemed to come like a whirlwind and suddenly, he’s no longer here.  I’m not sure I can fathom our little hometown in Ohio without Lyle running around in it.  Things there will certainly never be quite the same.  My heart hurts for his family. 

As I pondered his death yesterday, it occurred to me that this life, the life we live on this planet, is ultimately about preparing for the next life.  We spend every moment of every day, whether we realize it or not, sowing eternal seeds.  We sow either seeds of life or seeds of destruction.  Each day we make hundreds of choices that determine which type.  We don’t often realize the import of every choice.  I heard a speaker at a seminar once point out that whenever we say “yes” to one thing, we are saying “no” to everything else in that moment.  I believe that’s true, but I must admit that I don’t often keep this thought in the forefront of my mind when making choices regarding my time and energy. 

I’ve sown plenty of seeds that, at their best, were a complete waste of precious time and, at their worst, actually fed destruction in my own life or in the lives of those around me.  I regret very much those choices.  Many seemed so innocuous at the time.  How easy it is to move through life rather carelessly.  When I think about the power hidden in each moment, that every choice I make is pregnant with eternal significance – for the good or the bad – I am overwhelmed with a sense of responsibility.  This thought would be too much for me to bear except for the knowledge that, as a Christian, I do not shoulder this responsibility alone.  Thank you, Jesus. 

Our dear friend was not a perfect man.  I’m sure he, like all of us, made some choices that he wished he hadn’t.  But I do know that Lyle sowed a lot of seeds that produced life for a multitude of people around him.  My husband and I are a part of that number and we are grateful. 

Lord, I pray you help me to remember the eternal significance of each choice I make.  Enable me to plant seeds of life.  Thank you for those who have sown seeds of life into the soil of my heart.  And Lord, please tell Lyle thanks for us and that we’ll see him soon…