If you plant pumpkin seeds you will reap pumpkin vines. If you sow corn seeds you will reap corn. If you sow bean seeds you will reap beans. The universal law is that you reap what you sow. This does not just apply to farming.
In his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul writes, “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” (Galatians 6:7-9, NIV).
In other words, the little habits of telling white lies, of not revealing all the truth, of making excuses for your failures will reap a poor outcome. However, by putting in place habits of Bible reading and reflection on the goodness of God, prayer, being thankful, thinking of how to be kind to others will have the opposite effect. One group of habits destroy the soul and the other builds it. Our choices determine our eternal destiny—if we choose Jesus and the Spirit to internally change us we have hope. But the perseverance here is not just about self-improvement. Character building comes from serving others (see verse 10). When we serve we reveal that we are not the centre of the universe.
I have been inspired recently when hearing stories of those from our Church who rescued others in the eastern Australian floods, who provided water and food and cleaned up houses. The Adventists in eastern Europe who are taking up to two families of Ukrainian refugees per household and treating them like guests—even though they don’t speak the same language and are not getting compensated for their care.
This kind of doing good prepares the soil of people’s hearts—as God says—it will reap a harvest some time. Join me in doing all the good we can now.
