Sowing and Reaping

Have you ever planted a seed? You probably made sure it was planted in good, nourishing soil, and then put it in a window to get the sunshine in needed.  You watered it regularly so the soil could stay moist as the plant drew from it each day.  With excited anticipation you watched it grow, perhaps speaking to it with love in hopes that it would react with more enthusiastic growth!   It might have seemed to take forever for this little seedling to grow, but it was well worth the wait.  Perhaps you were growing a fruit or vegetable, or a beautiful flower.  Whatever it was, you rejoiced because something new was coming forth into this world that would bring pleasure.

There are some exciting rules of sowing and reaping.  The first one is that we sow first and reap later.  It takes time for a plant to go from a seed to a seedling to a mature plant.  If you hope to get a crop the day after you plant your seeds, you will be very disappointed.

The second rule is what we sow gives a greater yield than what we planted.  Sowing a seed of corn yields a stalk with several ears of corn that contain many kernels of corn.

The third rule is that we reap the same thing that we sow.  In other words, a corn seed will not produce wheat, but rather more corn.

How do we apply that to our lives? Galatians 6:7 says, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.”

Sowing good seeds, such as living a godly, moral life will bring joy, peace, and life that will be multiplied for years to come.  Sowing seeds of rebellion and lust will bring a harvest of sin and death.  It might not be today, but it will come eventually and produce pain and misery that exceeds the relatively small pleasure you had for a season.  “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” (James 1:15)

How about you?  What kinds of seeds are you planting in your life?  Are you planting seeds of kindness that will reap more kindness back to you, seeds of hatred that will cause many others to hate you back, seeds of hard work that will result in great accomplishment, or seeds of love that will result in many lives touched for the glory of God?  Let’s be careful as we live our lives today to purposefully plant the kinds of seeds in our lives that we want to grow into flourishing results we can be proud of, that give us pleasure, and most of all, honor God.  It may be a while before the harvest is ready, but never grow weary in well doing. Galatians 6:9: “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”  Let’s plant beautiful gardens that will bring forth the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22-26: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance [self control]; against such there is no law. And they that are Christ‘s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vainglory, provoking one another, envying one another.”