the giving trees

Galatians 6:6-10

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.

If you ever find yourself in Nassau, Bahamas, looking for something to do you have got to go visit the Graycliff Estates. It is this big gated property that just looks like an old hotel about the same quality as most of the houses in Nassau. My wife and I were too cheap to spend the money on a real day trip the last time that we were in Nassau so we walked around the town looking for cool stuff. This hotel has a big restaurant that was completely empty when we walked through, they make and sell their own cigars so we attempted to take a tour of that building but the cuban woman in the room spoke exactly no English… they boast the biggest wine cellar in the Caribbean but I’m not into wine or basements and we took a wrong turn and couldn't find it…  but the pride of the property is by far the Graycliff Chocolatier. This small, family owned operation, made some of the most exquisite specialty chocolates I’ve seen anywhere. We dropped $10 for the walking around tour and before you knew it we were wearing plastic aprons and filling moulds with white chocolate…  my wife’s dream! We learned everything about the chocolate process and got to see the passion for this young man that was a part of this small organization. They were the only chocolatier on the island, but that was not enough for them…  they dream to be the only people actually growing Cocoa in the Bahamas. Their goal is to make this a fully Bahamian experience by actually growing the cocoa beans in the Bahamas and cultivating them and developing them into chocolate right there on the island. In order to achieve this goal that had planted cocoa trees in a specific section of the island, and now they are waiting. And waiting. They said they wont know for 3 years if their trees are even viable… and they wont know for years after that if their cocoa is high quality. That is a lot of investment! A lot of time to put into something that might not at all pay out, but if that is the goal, that is what they must do.

That’s what this passage is talking about. Don’t get tired of doing the right thing… if you quit to early you wont be able to taste the end product. God is doing so many awesome things in our lives, but too many times we get tired of waiting and we try to take over ourselves… be patient, don’t get tired of doing the right thing… God is still using you!

Answer This:

1. What is something that you had to wait a long time for? 

2. What is a time that God was trying to do something in your life but you didn’t wait, and suffered the consequences later?

3.”And let us not grow weary of doing ___________, for in due season we will ___________, if we do not give up“

Take a moment and journal about this. 

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Written by Jeff Harkins