Reap what you sow

You reap what you sow. What does that mean to you? To me, this is kind of like the golden rule. So how you treat others is how you want to be treated yourself. I also believe that it means you'll see a harvest from the things you do. You'll see fruit, you'll see a crop. Not just empty trees and fields.

In Galatians chapter 6, Paul talks about bearing one another's burdens. Paul writes in verse 1,  "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted." I really like what he writes there. How often do we see those who are around us struggling with something? All of the time. When we see that, we should restore those people with a spirit of gentleness. A spirit of gentleness might look different to you than it does to me. For you it could be speaking to those who are struggling with something in way in which you know they will feel better. For me, I would do my best to encourage. When we struggle, we all react to things differently. Some people need kind and gentle words, others might need something a little more harsh to get them going. Some people might need a hug, others might have to be left alone. The fact is that we are all very different and we all struggle with something. We can't just leave people out to dry, we must love on them and help them through whatever they are struggling with.

Now think about reaping what you sow. If you are go out of your way to help someone who is struggling with something, they will most likely return the favor. When they return the favor, you are reaping what you sow. They might not even be the ones to return the favor. People are always watching. Somebody who you never expected might return the favor. That is why people are awesome!

Later on in Galatians 6, Paul writes this, "Let the one who is taught the word to share all the good things with the one who teaches." Nobody is higher than anyone else. I like to think about our bible professors here at Bethel. They teach and share with us things about the bible, and I guarantee that they want us to share the things that we are learning. That is how it is with anybody! If I come across a verse and share it with somebody, I love when I hear about how that verse affected someone else's life other than mine. It's never about me. When I use scripture when I write these posts and hear how somebody learned something or was encouraged I am overjoyed!

Check out Galatians 6:7-10, "Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are in the household of faith." 

God isn't mocked when it is written that we reap what we sow. What we sow, we will reap. When we sow into our own personal flesh and our own personal needs, from the flesh we will reap corruption. That makes perfect sense. We can't only sow to ourselves. Why would you plant a harvest for only yourself. You don't see a field with just one corn cob, or one bean, or one piece of wheat. You would starve and so would everyone else. When we focus on ourselves we are prone to corruption because we aren't aware of what is going on around us. The joy in life should never be about your success or just your love for God. The joy we should get should come from seeing people be successful, bringing people to Christ, and seeing the love of Christ transform their lives.

Paul writes that, "the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." We need to sow from the Spirit. Just want I talked about above. Inside, we long for relationships with people, we were created to be social human beings. Our Spirit longs for that. When we sow to the Spirit we reap eternal life.

If you look at the last two paragraphs, it seems as if there are two options. What we sow either leads to corruption or eternal life. I don't know about you but I am choosing eternal life every single time.

We can never get tired of doing good. When we get tired of doing good, we begin to focus on ourselves and when we focus on yourselves that is when we being to sow with our own flesh. Which only leads to corruption. I also wonder how we could ever get tired of doing good. How good does it make you feel when you do something good for someone else? It's one of the best feelings there is. This example exemplifies how easy it is to focus on ourselves. No matter how many good things we do for other people, there are always times where we will have something in us that makes us want to focus on us. It's like the battle I talked about in yesterdays post. There is a never ending between the flesh and the Spirit and that battle is always keeping us from doing what we want to do.

When we stick to doing good we will reap what we sow if we do not give up. We can never ever give up. You never want to give up in a battle right? Right! You want to keep on fighting and fighting. When we fight this battle, in due season we will reap.

What I want you to look at is the incredible opportunity that we have here. It's an amazing opportunity we have every single day. An opportunity to do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. That is my challenge and encouragement to you. Seize the opportunity to do good to everyone and we will reap what we sow. I have no doubt.