Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer,and the mute tongue shout for joy.Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. The burning sand will become a pool, the thirsty ground bubbling springs. In the haunts where jackals once lay, grass and reeds and papyrus will grow. And a highway will be there; it will be called the Way of Holiness; it will be for those who walk on that Way. The unclean will not journey on it; wicked fools will not go about on it.
Do you know that the way of holiness is a walk of sowing but reaping nothing on earth? It's ironical that many want to reap but do not want to sow. Many talk of reaping only. It's easier to be the one who reaps but it's rather difficult being a sower. People who sow with their lives hardly reap anything on earth. The reaping will come very much later when full Christformation has occured in them and others to whom they have truly ministered. As we ponder upon the life of John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ and the early church ministers of God, we realize that they all sowed selflessly but never reaped anything on Earth. Whatever they reaped was only seen long after they had gone from this Earth. We see the result of their selfless ministries. In fact, apostle Paul puts it this way in simple words but yet he truly rejoices in having such a walk of faith in God.
1 Corinthians 4:9-13
For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world--right up to this moment.
