Black Sheep

Page 8 | www.BlacksheepHDfC.org Marty Edwards It doesn't take a genius to understand that if you put junk gas in your bike it's not going to run right. Furthermore, if you have cheap parts installed by an incompetent mechanic, that's not going to work out very well either. It's the PRINCIPLE of "garbage in, garbage out." It's the Biblical principle, SOWING and REAPING. To "sow" is to cast seed. (Not to carefully plant one seed at a me, but to cast seeds everywhere!) It's actually called, "broadcas ng." To "reap" is to gather the fruit that came from the sowing. Both the Old and New Testaments were wri en during agrarian mes. Many of the parables and stories speak about livestock and agriculture. For this ar cle we need to understand that the principle of "sowing and reaping" applies to more than agriculture. The principle of sowing and reaping applies to all aspects of life; business, finances, personal rela onships, child rearing, a tudes towards others and more. 1. Everything starts with a seed: Human life starts not with an egg, but with a seed. Every idea starts with a seed of thought or a dream or a vision. Every mile starts with the investment of a first step. Every rela onship or business deal begins with a walk across the room, a handshake and an introduc on; and all of those seeds hopefully produce a crop of desired fruit (results). In most cases one seed can result in a great deal of fruit. The saying goes, "Anybody can count the seeds in an apple…but only God knows the number of apples in a seed." One or two apple seeds planted are the beginning of a tree. That tree in turn produces hundreds of apples and thousands of seeds and eventually an en re orchard. Likewise, one word…one handshake…one introduc on can lead to much more. The Bible tells us to "Not despise small beginnings." (Zechariah). A small acorn can become a giant oak tree and a ny fetus can become the leader of the free world. The poor self-image will say, "Oh, my seeds aren't going to produce much!" Consider this: Walt Disney was told he had no imagina on! Elvis Presley was told he would be a be er truck driver than a singer! Einstein didn't even talk un l he was four years old and Michael Jordon was cut from his high-school basketball team. The largest living thing on this planet is a giant redwood tree that is three hundred and eighty feet tall…and it began as a small seed. The Harleys and the Davidsons failed at a number of a empts before making the greatest motorcycle in American history and your dreams can become just as impressive if you're willing to sow carefully. 2. Nothing happens un l a seed is planted: The best fuel, the best spark plugs and the best air cleaner will do our bikes absolutely no good if they are le in a box on the shelf. They have to be installed to make any difference. (Duh!) Likewise, The most wonderful seeds in the world, le in the box, will produce nothing! What if a farmer looked out over his acres… and then looks at the sacks of seed he had spent good money for…maybe even all of his savings from the previous year…and then decided plan ng the seeds was too big of a risk? Some might say he was cau ous or just trying to be a good steward but I would say he was a fool! 100% of your ideas and dreams will never come to pass unless you start the process; plant the seed. So why don't people take that first step? Because plan ng is a RISK! It takes an act of faith to let go of those seeds ( me, money, energy, ego, fear of failure). The li le devils in our brains say: What if I start a business and it fails? What if I the to my local church and I starve to death? What if I invest in this rela onship and she rejects me? What if they laugh at me…embarrass me? Jesus took that risk. In the Gospel of John 12:24 Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds." He was talking about his own death on the cross. Two thousand years this side of the crucifixion we forget that Jesus did not have to go to the cross. He wasn't on auto drive or cruise control. He could have said, "No" at any me, but He trusted His Father enough to risk it all. The seed (Jesus) had to fall to the ground and die so that our sins would be atoned for and billions of people could have eternal life. 3. What we sow is what we reap: Take care of your bike and your bike will take care of you. (You have conscien ously sown good seeds by servicing your motorcycle, changing the res, etc. Now you can reap the sa sfac on of confidence in your machine. Gala ans 6:7-9 "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruc on; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper me we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." To summarize, "What goes around, comes around!" What Goes around Comes around

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