Galatians 6:7-10
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.
We Reap What We Sow
If you enjoy gardening, how do you feel when you dig into a helping of the vegetables you harvested? Oh, these beans are delicious! These carrots are so sweet! These are the juiciest tomatoes ever! For some reason, they taste just a little bit better than anything you might buy at the store or farmer’s market, don’t they? You enjoy reaping what you have sown. You plant the right seeds; you pull the weeds; you water the plants; and you enjoy the blessings of the harvest! You reap what you sow.
The Apostle gives us this lesson for our lives today as we take time for perspective. What is perspective? The dictionary defines it as the capacity to view things in their true relations or relative importance. The perspective our loving Lord gives us today is we’ll reap what we sow in our daily lives. If we sow to please our sinful nature, what would we reap? When we sow to please the Spirit, what will we reap? Let’s find out.
We reap what we sow. This maxim certainly applies to life in general. A youth who faithfully studies and prepares for adult life usually reaps the rewards of meaningful, productive work. The youth who sows wild oats, wasting his time on sinful excess may ruin his life. In marriage, sowing years of miscommunication and selfishness reaps harsh words and bitter feelings. Sowing seeds of love, consideration, forgiveness, mutual helpfulness and respect reaps the joy of a family peace and unity.
We reap what we sow. In our lesson the apostle applies this to our spiritual lives and eternal destiny. Sowing to please the sinful nature, living only to gratify the desires of our sinful flesh, will reap destruction, he warns. In chapter 5 Paul catalogues some of the open sins that result: “The acts of the sinful nature 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” (5:19).
Oh, yes, we see plenty of those sins in the world around us. But sowing to the flesh is not only found among unbelieving people. Look at examples in Scripture: King David, a man after God's own heart, sowed to the flesh when he lusted after Bathsheba; Peter, when he thought more of his safety than of loyalty to Christ; Judas, by loving money more than Christ. You and I are tempted to sow to please the sinful nature since we still have that old self, that rebel against God, living within us. It taunts, “Go ahead! Who cares what the Ten Commandments say. Everyone else is doing it! It’s only once! No one will ever know! You can always be forgiven later!”
Perhaps the greatest danger confronting us is to sow to please that little self-righteous Pharisee that lurks within our hearts. We see people make a mess of their lives, and we are tempted to smugly think, “Of course they wrecked their lives! What else did they expect when they lived that way? They should have been more like me.”
What harvest do those who sow to the flesh reap? Destruction! King David destroyed his conscience and the latter part of his rule. Peter destroyed his bond with Jesus and his confidence as a disciple. Judas reaped the ultimate destruction as he totally lost his faith in Jesus as his Saviour. Destruction is eternal ruin, everlasting damnation, and eternal separation from God in hell. Think of Jesus’ account of the rich man in hell. He was in torment and longed for just a drop of water on his tongue. The world may laugh at God’s warning, but Paul answers, “Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked.” His Word stands! “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law” (Gal. 5:10). Sowing to please the sinful nature never, never, never brings satisfaction in life. It always, always, always ends in tears, regret, and hell.
Do you realize why God gives us this stark warning? He loves us! He wants us to escape the destruction that comes from sowing to the flesh and to have life to the full, now by faith, and forever with Him in heaven! So, He promises, “The one who sows to please the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” What pleases the Spirit of God? He wants all to be saved! He wants you and me to be saved! Jesus told Nicodemus, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the Kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”
Thank God the Holy Spirit that He created the miracle of faith in us through our baptism! Thank God the Holy Spirit that He keeps us in faith through the Word and Sacrament. Through these Means of Grace, the Holy Spirit leads us to our Saviour’s cross where the Son of God, who had no sin, reaped the destruction we deserved for our sin. For Jesus’ sake, God has cleansed us from all sin and covered us in Jesus’ holiness. Since God our Saviour wants us to be saved, pleasing the Spirit means growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ throughout our lives. When we do, He promises that despite our doubts and the times in weakness we still fall into sin, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippian 1:6)! Hear and learn God’s Word – please the Spirit! Remember your baptism – please the Spirit. Receive forgiveness and renewed faith and love at the Lord’s Table – please the Spirit! And, as surely God loves us in Christ, so we love Him and want to live for Him according to His Word -please the Spirit!
Paul notes in chapter 5, “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentle list, and self-control” (5:22-23). In our lesson he encourages, “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” (v. 9-10).
Are you tempted to think, “But aren’t we supposed to please ourselves first if we want to be happy? That’s what everyone else does! And when I do something good, no one notices or appreciates it anyhow”? Holy Spirit, drive such selfish thoughts out of our minds! Did our Lord grow weary in doing good? Did people always appreciate His self-sacrificing love? Yet He never grew tired of helping and teaching, suffering wrong and finally He even died for His enemies.
Our Lord teaches us not to do good for the sake of being seen and praised by others. We certainly don’t do good to earn eternal life. We receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life by faith in Jesus. Since we are living forever, Christ’s love compels us to do good to serve God and serve our neighbor. Every kind word we say, every kind act we do for Jesus’ sake, is a sign of the faith the Holy Spirit has given. Thank God for the perspective on life He has given us – we reap what we sow! By His grace, sow to please the Spirit! Amen.