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.

Galatians 6:7-10

Notes

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God created a complete world, unbroken and without sin.  But when sin entered the world, it made a fracture.  Evers since everyone in existence has been contributory to the further splintering or healing of the divide.  We should not be deceived by the voices of our time that claim earthly power, money, or fame will be our salvation. What one does on earth to please oneself will end on earth.  Nothing in this world is beyond decay, even gold and silver.  Instead, we are to look to the eternal and what we can do to cultivate a spiritual harvest.

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

1 Peter 1:18-19

We are told that we reap what we sow. If our harvest is small, what are we cultivating in our lives?  If the harvest is large, can we avoid the temptation to brag or make ourselves seem superior? This verse does not only speak of sinners and their sins but of so-called saints, believers, followers of Christ, and their treatment of others. In the natural order of the world, there are consequences to our actions.  Like Newton’s Laws of Physics, every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  Likewise, in our faith, what we put out in the world will inevitably return.  

What we need to realize is some of our consequences will be metered out during our temporary lives on Earth, but we will have much to answer for at the seat of judgment.  Too many believe that if they do good things, they will enter the heavenly gates.  Some believe that without an afterlife, our goal in this world is to get what we can.  Both are wrong in believing only have to answer to ourselves and only in our time. Readers of history will recognize the impact of decisions made hundreds, even thousands of years ago, still affect us today.  We have a choice to make every day if we want to sow greed, selfish ambition, division, or indifference or, instead, how to sow kindness, generosity, compassion, and selflessness. No matter what we decide, there is a moral order in this world. Martin Luther King references this moral order in his famous quote: “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”  What we find in the bible is that justice and righteousness go hand in hand. 

If we are blessed with waking up in the morning, it means that God has a purpose for us.  Our purpose is not to “eat, drink, and be merry,” but rather, we are given the opportunity to repair brokenness, heal a divide, and do good to ALL people.  People who look like us and who are different (Galatians 5:14), people who we like and dislike (Matthew 5:43-48), people who act well or who have made terrible decisions (Matthew 18:21-22). 

We do not know God’s full plan, but we have been given an opportunity each day to do good.  As it says in Ephesians 2:10, For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.  Because of our broken world, good works and reparations are difficult.  We will find resistance to our efforts in every direction.  We should be focused on our purpose and have perseverance in staying on God’s path to glory.

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MEMORY VERses

Adolphe Appian. A Cliff in the Parish of Rix, 1862. The Art Institute of Chicago

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Related Verses

More verses about perseverance:

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PRAYER INVITATION

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Cover Image: Carel Nicolaas Storm van ‘s-Gravesande. Cliffs at Veules, 1880 – 1884. The Rijksmuseum