Over the last couple weeks, Kristina and I have been putting in plants around our house. When we bought the house, the previous owners had cut out all the landscaping. Last summer some of the plants started growing back and we gave them time to see what we had, but we knew there would have to be some replanting. The plants we put in are small and the grasses we planted are skinny…there certainly is room for growth! And that is the point of this article, there are times in our life when we need to be looking at the future, working for the long term.

We live in a society that demands instant gratification. Impatience has become a common trait in our lives. We need to work for the long term, even our God did this, “But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4, 5).

Our work for the Lord may last for only a couple years or for a lifetime (Matthew 20:1-16) and our work is for eternity, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Our goal is to hear well done, good and faithful servant, and that comes at the end of our journey on this earth, not while are still working. 

I look at our little plants and think about what they’ll look like in 20 years, after they’ve fully matured and have bloomed in all their beauty, but they won’t do that tomorrow, and I think about how beautiful heaven will be at the end of this life!

By; Justin Odom