Toward the end of the mother’s life, she needed to be taken care of by her daughter. This was a pleasant and memorable time for both, but still her mother never appreciated or approved of the daughters work.
One night, as the mother was close to death, the daughter recalled having a dream. In that dream, she heard her alarm wake her up and she went to her mother’s room to check on her. As she entered the room, her mother looked 35 years old and she was a kid again. She went over and sat on the bed and her mother hugged her, stroked her hair and told her how much she loved her. And then suddenly, the alarm went off.
Realizing she must of have been dreaming, she got out of bed and went to her mother’s bedroom. When she entered the room, she saw that again her mother looked 35 years old. She was standing on the bed and peering out over something like a fence. The mother exclaimed, “I see it! I see it!” The daughter asked, “What? What do you see?” The mother said, “It’s your fruit. I see all of your fruit. And OH! It’s so beautiful! I’m so very proud of you!” And then suddenly, the alarm went off. The daughter rushed out of bed to find that her mother had passed away in her sleep.
As Christians, we can sometimes become discouraged when we commit our efforts to genuinely helping others, but we never really see tangible results.
The bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:58:
Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Also Galatians 6:9 says:
And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
God is encouraging us to persevere in our efforts, because in planting seeds of the Good News and working towards God’s Kingdom, we will not fail. His work through you will produce a harvest. But we must remember that the work we do has eternal purposes and so we must understand that we are storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20). These are not things of this world, so like the daughter in the above testimony, we may not see the fruit of what we do here on earth. But how exciting to think about the mystery of what awaits you and I in heaven. I don’t know about you, but I want to be able to see my fruit, to speak to my fruit and to know that my efforts through Jesus Christ were all worthwhile.
The daughter in this story took something so painful in her life and used it for God’s glory. Through her pain, she produced a harvest in heaven. The bible encourages us that in our pain, through our tears, we can produce a harvest.
Psalm 126:5-6:
Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy carrying sheaves with them.
Charles Spurgeon writes about this verse: He leaves his couch to go forth into the frosty air and tread the heavy soil; and as he goes he weeps because of past failures, or because the ground is so sterile, or the weather so unseasonable, or his corn so scarce, and his enemies so plentiful and so eager to rob him of his reward. He drops a seed and a tear, a seed and a tear, and so goes on his way. In his basket he has seed which is precious to him, for he has little of it, and it is his hope for the next year. Each grain leaves his hand with anxious prayer that it may not be lost: he thinks little of himself, but much of his seed, and he eagerly asks, "Will it prosper? shall I receive a reward for my labour?" Yes, doubtless you will gather sheaves from your sowing. No reason for doubt can remain after the Lord has spoken. You will return to this field -- not to sow, but to reap; not to weep, but to rejoice; and after awhile you will go home again with nimbler step than today, though with a heavier load, for you shall have sheaves to bear with you. Your handful shall be so greatly multiplied that many sheaves shall spring from it; and you shall have the pleasure of reaping them and bringing them home to the place from which you went out weeping.
There is a world that desperately needs seeds of love, hope, joy, and freedom to be planted. Do not be discouraged. What you do, however little, has eternal fruits that are far beyond our imagination. Keep working, keep sowing… God will bring about a great and beautiful harvest and a multitude of fruit in heaven!
