I have a friend who is a cranberry grower. He owns many acres of cranberry bogs in Massachusetts. Right now, he and his employees are going at it seven days a week, harvesting the crop that they have anticipated, tended, and protected for the past year. This is the time of the year when all their patience and hard work is going to pay off. Now, they are enjoying the reward of their labors.

On occasion, I've had the opportunity to talk to my friend, and have him tell me what a year is like for a cranberry grower. Of course, this time in the year is the exciting time. However, for basically eleven months during the year, he and his men fix equipment and watch over the bogs. For most of the year, they invest a lot of work with no visible results. They just trust that what they are doing will be worth it when the harvest comes.

The Bible often compares the Christian life to that of a farmer. We are encouraged to patiently plant "seeds" of the gospel and doing good, because God promises the harvest will come. But, it's not easy to be patient and faithful when you're not seeing any results, is it?

What if my friend got tired of working on his bogs in May, June, and July, and quit, because he was seeing no results? He wouldn't be reaping the benefits like he is now. It's a lot like financial investing. One of the chief rules of investing in the stock market is to keep investing, regardless of the day-to-day up or downswings in the market. Over the long haul, a faithful, steady investor is going to reap significant financial rewards, if he doesn't bail out when times get tough. They say that when the market drops, that's the time to buy more stocks, not sell the ones you have!!

Now, there are some of you reading this who are planting and watering seeds of the gospel in the lives of your family or friends. Also, there are some of you attempting to faithfully do good, and to invest acts of love into your friendships and family relationships. Maybe right now it seems to be of no use. Don't quit! Be patient! Stay faithful! God's Word to us says, Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary (Galatians 6:9). Keep investing those righteous acts, because ...he who sows righteousness gets a true reward (Proverbs 11:18b).

You may be a dad who is striving to have a genuine, loving relationship with your teenager. Each day you seek to be interested in, and to listen to your child. Right now, it may not seem like that investment is making much of a difference, but it is! Wait to see the fruit your love is going to bear! Maybe you're single, and you are striving to cultivate purity, and to not give into the short-term temptation to gratify the desires of your flesh apart from God. And, currently, it seems too hard, and you are feeling the pull to quit, and to just surrender to living a life controlled by your bodily desires, instead of God's love. Or, perhaps, you're married, and you have been attempting to really invest in your spouse and your marriage, but there seems to be no results to show for your efforts. Whatever your case may be, I doubt there is anyone reading this who doesn't have need of patience in some part of their life they are seeking to tend God's way. Keep doing the right thing, and the harvest will come. Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it (Psalm 37:3-5).

Keep praying for those people! Keep loving your neighbor! Keep obeying God! Be patient and be faithful. Keep sowing, watering, and investing. I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the LORD (Psalm 27:13-14).

Of course, for a Christian the full reward for his faithfulness will be received in heaven. There may be some things we're not going to receive the reward for until we're there. Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the LORD. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the LORD is near (James 5:7-8).

Sometime in the next few months, I hope to see my friend, the cranberry grower again. It probably won't be until after the harvest, and his post-harvest hunting trip. I'll visit with him in his nice, cozy house with his happy, well-taken-care-of family. The harvest has come. His patience and faithfulness has paid off. Yours will, too.