Planting Seeds While Passing Through
We often think of the spiritual life as a pilgrimage—a steady, linear walk toward a distant horizon. But in 2 Timothy 2:6, the Apostle Paul startles with an arresting contrast: – the pilgrim is a farmer.
At first glance, these identities seem at odds. A pilgrim is always moving; a farmer is rooted in the soil.If you just looked at the surface, you’d say, “You can’t be both!” But by investigating that paradox, an essential perspective comes into view: – we are called to work hard in our neighborhood(Farmer) while never forgetting that we don’t belong to it (Pilgrim).
Cultivating the “In-Between”
The Pilgrim has his eyes fixed, laser-like, on the destination. But he is not so heavenly minded as to be of no earthly use.
- Whether it’s our careers, our families, our character, or our community, we are called to plow, plant, and weed with intentionality.
- Farming is cultivation of the art of waiting. The pilgrim knows the road is long; the farmer knows the growth is slow. Together, they create a soul that isn’t discouraged by a lack of immediate results.
Eating What You Plant
God promises a harvest in this life: “The hardworking farmer ought to be the first to receive a share of the crops.”
This is the secret to spiritual endurance. As you plant seeds of kindness, patience, and truth in the lives of others, you are the first one nourished by them. The “crop” we cultivate on our journey—peace and joy—is exactly what fuels us to keep walking the difficult Pilgrim way with joy.
Patient Endurance
Farmers work for a harvest they cannot see yet. Pilgrims walk toward a home they haven’t yet reached. The present harvest sustains and energizes the Pilgrim.
I once walked from the North Rim to the South rim of the Grand Canyon. I had a pint of water and the advice was to take a gallon. I was badly dehydrating, my mouth dry and my tongue swelling. I was alarmed by my situation. To my relief a ranger appeared and offered me his bottle of water laced with gatorade. It invigorated me in indescribable ways. I set out with renewed energy and gratitude, all my symptoms swallowed up. I was enabled to finish, and to finish strong.
The Lessons:
Grow something beautiful in the soil of today while you keep your eyes on the destination of tomorrow.
Be refreshed by the Ranger, the Holy Spirit, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. (John 7:37-39 NIV)
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