July 23, 2016 SOWING AND REAPING
Galatians 6:7-9: “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.”
It is an inescapable fact of life that we sow and we reap, and we reap what we sow. The most important question that each of us must at some point must reckon with, is that of what and where we are sowing. God has set up certain principles in the universe and in life itself; just as the law of gravity always works, so does the law of sowing and reaping always work; and to be sure, God will not and cannot be mocked-His design always works. The simple choice facing each of us is whether we will sow in a way that reaps corruption, or in a way that reaps eternal life. The “flesh” as referred to in this verse is obviously not our literal flesh and bones, but refers to the selfish nature of man that seeks to be satisfied. The scriptures tell us that for the believer, the “old man,” the flesh, has been crucified; however, if the believer does not “reckon the old man to be dead,” (Romans 6:11) it is possible for the believer to sow to the flesh while the non-believer has only one option, and that is to sow to the flesh. In Galatians, Paul is addressing believers and he is admonishing the believers to make sure they are sowing to the Spirit and not the flesh. In essence, sowing to the Spirt means that one is living according to the Holy Spirit that lives within him. The work of the Holy Spirit in the believer touches every aspect of life, including: revealing truth, revealing the nature of God, empowering one to live the Christian (super-natural) life, giving wisdom and guidance, and much more. We are sowing to the Spirit when we obey the promptings of the Spirit within us; when we are focused on fulfilling the desires of the flesh, we are sowing to the flesh. In a very broad sense, sowing to the Spirit results in doing “good works” because God Himself is good and He desires to express His goodness in and through us. Because we may not always see immediate good fruit as we sow to the Spirit, Paul warned of the possibility of “losing heart in doing good.” Because we sow first and reap later, we are not to lose heart as we wait on the harvest. It is important to know that even though we may have sown to the flesh in the past, we can start sowing to the Spirit now and reap good fruit. When our heart comes to desire God and we walk in His ways, God has a way of dealing with our past-taking away the guilt and shame and giving us a new start. Let us examine ourselves and make sure that we are sowing to the Spirit and let us not lose heart or grow weary-God has promised that we will reap-and the harvest will be big!
Galatians 5:16: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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