"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" (Psalm 126:5-6).

In seasons of great scarcity, the poor peasants would part in sorrow with every measure of precious seed cast into the ground. It was like taking bread out of the mouths of their children. They prayed that the yield would be good. But they knew that on average only one third of the seed would make it to maturity in yielding grain. But when the grain was mature and the harvest time came, the people would come back rejoicing with the harvest.

There was also dangers in ancient times when farmers were attempting to plough and sow. Many times the government was weak or the land was being invaded. The farmers would put themselves at great risk to work their land. They would need to go to the fields armed with weapons to protect themselves. Some farmers would be killed while trying to plant their crops. Thus when they left home for the fields they would leave their families crying. But when harvest time came, much joy would be experienced by those who were able to harvest.

The work of the farmer was also very hard. Much of the land was overgrown with thorns. It required painful work to clear the land of these thorns. The soil was very rocky and much work was needed to remove these rocks. The work had to be done in all kinds of weather. Thus, many tears of pain from the work were shed. But great joy was had when the harvest time came.

Our spiritual life can be like the farmer. As we try to plant the seed of the Word we will undergo many trials. Sometimes tears will be shed when circumstances go wrong. But we can take comfort in knowing that if we continue to do our work, God will give the increase in a spiritual harvest. It is our job to keep sowing and planting the seed. We know that much of the seed will not make it to maturity to produce a spiritual crop. But what does mature will make us and God very, very happy.

Keep reading and studying your Bible. Learn what you need to know to properly plant the seed of God's Word. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.

In Mark 2:3-4, we read, "And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. And when they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay." In the fifth chapter of Luke, we find out that they let the man down "through the tiling."

At the time of Christ, most of the roofs were made by laying stone tiles across the wooden joists of the house. Then a mixture of clay, tar, ashes, mortar and sand was put on top of the stone tiles. This was pressed until it was hard. Then sometimes grass was planted on top of this mixture. This type roof helped keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

When the Scriptures say that the men broke up the roof it means they literally had to dig through the hard mixture. They had to dig a large enough area to be able to let down a bed. They also had to pull up the heavy stone tiles off of the roof joists. This would have required a significant amount of work. But the men wanted their friend to see Jesus. They were willing to expend a lot of energy to have their friend healed by Jesus.

Today, we have many individuals who will not even go to the trouble of driving a car 10 minutes to attend worship services. Many individuals will not even go to the trouble of picking up their Bibles and reading them. Very few individuals are willing to walk across the street and tell their neighbor about God and his Word.

Do not be like many today. Be like the men who helped their friend by uncovering the roof. Be willing to work hard to learn all that the Bible has to teach us. Be willing to work hard to tell others about Jesus and bring them to him.

Until next time, keep studying your Bible. And if any of this is hard to understand, ask an adult to help you.