” Today, while reading Psalm 126, I was
reminded of something a neighbor lady once told me. She said that for years as a little girl, when the church congregation sang the classic old hymn Bringing in the Sheaves, she was singing with great devotion,
“Bringing in the Cheese, bringing in the Cheese.” It sounded right to her!
Interestingly, as I read this Psalm from which that classic hymn was written, this thought came to me.
Most of us, who have trusted Jesus as Savior and carry the name of “Christian,” are not much closer to understanding what bringing in the sheaves means than was my neighbor when she sang, “Bringing in the cheese.”
That Psalm says in verses 5 & 6 “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”
Our society, our world, believes that our top goal in life is to be happy. Whatever it takes to bring pleasure to ourselves, this is our purpose, our raison d’etre, our reason for
being. It sounds right to us. After all what could be better than personal happiness?
For those who believe that God created us and wrote a manual called the Bible on how best to
operate this creation, we must look at His Word to see if striving for happiness is indeed the essence of life.
As seen in that Psalms passage, and throughout the rest of the Bible, God
has an order, a progression of how we are supposed to live. Sow in tears-reap in joy, planting in sorrow and bearing precious seed—bringing in the sheaves of harvest. It is kind of similar to...work before wages.
We are told in the Bible, in Isaiah 53 that Jesus was a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” In Philippians 2 we are told to have the mind of Christ Jesus and the passage
tells us what that mind is. Verses 7 & 8 tell us that “He made himself of no reputation, He humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
God then records the payoff in verses 9-11. “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things
in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Then the application for us is made in verses
12-15. “Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out [or live out] your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you
both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom
ye shine as lights in the world.”
The bottom line is this. The message we get from the world is, “Don’t worry, be happy.” This is your goal. Your purpose in life to please
yourself. But listen to what God says about our purpose for existence.
Isaiah 43:7 “Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I
have made him.”
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
Revelation 4:11 “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”
Jesus explained to His disciples in John 12:25-26 “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow
me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”
Again He said in Matthew 23:11-12 “But he that is greatest among you shall be your
servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.”
The apostle Paul who God used most to write the New Testament said in
Galatians 2:20-21 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
Let me offer three short verses that I believe sum up God’s wonderful design for living that is totally different from what the word says is true. Jesus explains that ultimately,
after some tears, and commitment to honor Him, He gives us joy and peace and a happiness beyond anything the world has to offer.
He said in Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you,” in John 10:10, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” and John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give
unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”
All of that “sounds right to me” because it is what God says...
Beliefs Have Consequences!
