Galatians 6:7, 8 (AMP) "Do not be deceived and deluded and misled; God will not allow Himself to be sneered at (scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions, or by His precepts being set aside.) [He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God.] For whatever a man sows, that and ]that only is what he will reap. 8For he who sows to his own flesh (lower nature, sensuality) will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction, but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life."
It's been almost a month since I posted. Between holidays,snow days, and just plain busy days, I've found myself seeking for both God's direction and the time to write a new post. God dropped this into my spirit over the last few days, so I wanted to share it.
Mandee and I are planning on planting a garden this year. She was talking to a friend the other day who has already broken ground on her garden plot. We will be doing the same soon if we have enough warm days and the tiller my mother-in-law just recieved from her uncle works. In the meantime, our minds turn to what exactly we will plant in our garden. We both have the usual favorites (ours anyway): squash, cucumbers, tomatoes, okra, green beans. sweet corn. My question for today is: What are we planting in our lives?
In the Scripture above, Paul is very plain as he reminds the Galatians of the principle of sowing and reaping: What you plant is what you get. Only, in the garden of our lives, there isn't always a "one-time"planting and harvesting, but usually a lifetime of filling ourselves with either things of the flesh or things of the Spirit. The idea of these verses is of one who "makes faces" at God and mocks His rules and set them aside, then does whatever he or she wants to in relation to planting the garden plot of his or her life. This is the person who says, "I don't care what God or anyone else thinks. This is my money, my life, my choice (fill in the blank), so I'm going to do whatever I want to do." And in His divine nature and grace, God gives us the freedom to make these choices. But...these come at a cost and anyone who thinks otherwise is, in the words of the rock group Styx, "Fooling Yourself". As I read these verses, I thought of someone at the end of their days, money made, friends and family deceased or at least gone, and goals and ambitions met. This person may feel like they have harvested an abundance, but really, they have harvested things that will one day burn up. Jesus mentioned this when he talked about laying up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt and thieves do not break through and steal. This is not to mention that this person may have made choices in his or her life that have actually resulted in disease and decay happening to their body. Either way, the harvest is ultimately one of ruin, decay, and destruction.
Not so with the one who sows things to the Spirit: prayer, devotion to God, ministering to those who God places in our paths/ These will reap a harvest of everlasting life. In this day to day life, it may feel like you are not harvesting much for your toils, but take heart in the words of Galatian 6:9 (AMP) "And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint." God has promises that in His economy, there will be a payment day, and what we will receive in that harvest will depend on what we have planted.
What to sow, what to sow.......
Father,
Thank you for the freedom you give us. Many use this freedom as an opportunity to sin. But I want to use these freedoms to sow things in my life that glorify you. We all occassionally do things that feed the flesh and not our remade spiritual nature, but please help me to make the conscious choice to sow and plant those things that are of the Spirit. Help me to water these things with your Word and with your Holy Spirit. I trust that no matter what happens in this life I will one day receive the results of what I have spent time planting. As the Scriptures say, may I not be ashamed at Your coming, but may I stand with confidence knowing I have planted things that will last for all eternity. In Jesus' Name, Amen
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