Paul closes his letter to the Galatian churches by urging them to sow a life that matters. He gives us all an important principle: we reap what we sow. Every choice we make plants a seed.
Galatians 6: 7 Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. 10 Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith. [1]
Plan the Harvest
We know that if we plant corn, we can only harvest corn, not any other vegetable. It is the same in the spiritual realm. We must decide what crop we want and plant accordingly. Every action has its consequences. All that we do is either an investment in worldly things or in the Spirit. What we do with our material things is evidence of how we value spiritual things.
Our behavior functions like farming. When we plant sinful behavior, we ultimately harvest death. In contrast, sowing seeds of the fruit of the Spirit will yield a harvest for eternity. Spreading seeds of joy, peace, and kindness demonstrates the love of Jesus and prepares hearts to receive the Gospel. We might be able to deceive others or even ourselves with our motives and attitudes as we plant seeds, but we cannot fool God.
Persevere
Sometimes our obedience to plant seeds of the Spirit feels unnoticed. Kindness, prayer, serving, giving, forgiving, and loving others can seem small. Yet God sees every seed planted in faith. The seed that is planted may not bear fruit immediately. There are seasons to the soul just as there are seasons in nature. We must trust God’s timing in the harvest.
Because actions that please the Spirit often involve eternal matters, the harvest may not come until eternity. Just because the harvest doesn’t appear when we think it should doesn’t diminish its reality. When we plant to please the Spirit, our actions can pave the way for our words of witness to others. God is always working beneath the surface. Faithfulness today becomes fruitfulness tomorrow.
If we become too weary to plant, there will be no harvest. Even though there may be a spiritual battle, God assures us that at the proper time we will reap a harvest. This encourages us to serve faithfully even when we want to give up. We want to sow a life that matters. What seeds are you planting in your life right now? How often have you regretted missing a chance for encouragement or kindness? We can’t retrieve past time, but we can resolve to plant as many seeds of the Spirit as possible.
To learn more, listen here:
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[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Ga 6:7–10). Tyndale House Publishers.