He will reap what He has sown...

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“Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:7-10)

How we live our lives and the choices we make matters. What we think, do and say are the things that we sow. If we sow hatred, we will walk out misery. If we give mercy to ourselves and others, we will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7). We reap out of whatever we sow.

Even in our bodies we reap out of what we are sowing. If we complain all the time, our countenance will reflect it. At the same time, if we are open handed with God and others, our countenance reflects this as well.

Sometimes however, I can read these verses in Galatians and think that I need to work really hard at getting everything right and doing good all the time. If I do this, I will get some kind of brownie points from God that I wouldn't get otherwise. And if I don't get it right, my life will be miserable and I'll experience the consequences.

So what does it look like to sow to please the flesh? Paul notes in Galatians 5:19-21, “The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians 6:9, “Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God?”

Not inheriting the kingdom of God here I do not believe is talking about our eternal salvation but is speaking of the results of sin – destruction and death. The context that Paul was writing in these verses in Galatians was around living out one's faith in our every day Christian life.

Sin brings death. James 1:13-15 says, “When tempted, no one should say, 'God is tempting me.' For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

Hosea 8:7, “For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind.”

When we are living in sin, we are not living in the fullness of the kingdom God has for us here and now.

“Sowing to the Spirit” and reaping everlasting life I believe is about living and receiving the kingdom now. Paul says in Romans 14:17, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”

The fullness of life, is the fullness of the Spirit which is expressed through gifts/manifestations and bearing fruit in our lives. Galatians 5:22-25 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passion and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

This fruit is obtained not by working hard at getting it all right, but t is in death that we bear life. Walking in step with the Spirit, we put to death and crucify the flesh. As we do, we see more and more of the kingdom of God manifesting in our day to day lives.

It is in death to self and brokenness that life and fruit are born. Jesus says in Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Those with broken and repentant hearts, experience the kingdom now, not later – in the middle of our everyday ordinary lives.

And in Matthew 5:10, Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Right in the midst of persecution and difficult circumstances, when we, by the Spirit, put to death our fleshly desires to react, retaliate, feel self pity, be discouraged, get an attitude, become argumentative or rebellious, etc. we experience the kingdom of God coming forth.

Romans 6:16 -17 says, “Do you not know that if you continually surrender yourselves to anyone to do his will, you are the slaves of him whom you obey, whether that be to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience which leads to righteousness (right doing and right standing with God)? But thank God, though you were once slaves of sin, you have become obedient with all your heart to the standard of teaching in which you were instructed and to which you were committed.”

As we put to death the flesh, we walk in the freedom of the Spirit that we have been called to. Receiving God's generous love by faith we express it by the way we humbly serve others in love (Gal. 5:13).

“It's through faith, it's the very gift of God” sings in the background.

Any opportunity we have, we are invited to “do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

Paul notes, “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” (Gal. 5:6)

God gives us all we need and more to sow acts of love. And while seeds are so small and insignificant in themselves, once planted, they die, and are watered, they bring forth new life. God blesses the works of our hands and makes our harvest more than we could ever imagine as we wait patiently. Paul says in 2 Cor. 9:10, “The one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide you with all the seed you want and make the harvest of your good deeds a larger one, and, through us, are the cause of thanksgiving to God.”

We are not to grow weary in doing well but know we will reap a harvest in due time. It is never a waste of our time when we are sowing in acts of love.

James 5:7-8 says,

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near.” (James 5:7-8)

In the same way that God would have us sow our seeds of love, He has sown His seed of love to us in Jesus. Galatians 3:16 says, “The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. Scripture does not say 'and to seeds,' meaning many people, but 'and to your seed,' meaning one person, who is Christ.”

Jesus spoke of Himself about His coming death in John 12:24-25, The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  'Truly, Truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 'He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal..."

God never grows weary.  He has sown the seed, He waters the land with rains  (Ps. 72:6) and patiently waits to the day of yielding its valuable crop.  He will reap what He has sown.

Revelation 14:14-16,

“I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand. Then another angel come out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe. So he who was seated on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.”

Lord, often I try to love others but it comes across superficial because I have failed to put to death so much of the flesh. Forgive me and help me to do this so that my love may be more genuine. Help us to truly walk in the Spirit, put to death the flesh and live in the fullness of love and eternal life right in the middle of our everyday lives.