You Reap What You Sow! | Galatians 6:7

by Charelle Obeng July 1, 2020

As daughters of the Most High God, we are immersed in His grace. He gives us good things that we could never earn, and He gives us good things that we truly do not deserve. In other words, there is nothing in this life that we could possibly do to earn or buy God’s favour – it is unmerited. It is only by the grace of God and it is in His loving kindness that we have abundant life, blessings and purpose. However, we must remember that in His loving kindness God is still a God of order & justice. As one writer puts it, “the grace of God does not eliminate the principles of choice and consequence”. And that’s why we will always reap what we sow.

Galatians 6:7

“Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a person sows he will also reap…”

Think about this way; if you were to sow seeds in your garden, you know that you will reap whatever you have sown. So, if you plant sunflower seeds, you knows that sunflowers will grow. If you plant apple seeds, you know that apples will grow. I’m sure you would be quite surprised if you planted sunflowers but apples grew! The same principles apply to our life. Our actions, behaviour and decisions (which all represent seeds that we sow) bring with them natural results. So if we sow good seeds, we will reap good results, and vice versa with bad seeds. But what exactly are ‘good’ and ‘bad’ seeds?

Well, Paul puts it like this in Galatians 6:8…

“the one who sows to his flesh will reap destruction from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit”.

Sowing to the Spirit represents good seeds, and sowing to the flesh represents bad seeds.

We are born of the flesh (sin), but when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior we are made new. When we give our lives to Jesus we are born of the Spirit, and His Holy Spirit dwells within us. Paul reminds us however that the flesh doesn’t just disappear when we become born again. Our flesh still tempts us with its desires. In fact Paul highlights in Galatians 5:17 that from the point of salvation, these two forces (the flesh & the Spirit) are constantly fighting each other.

As God’s daughters who have been saved, made new and reconciled back to God, our desire should be to do the things that are pleasing to Him. That is, our desire should be to walk according to the Spirit that dwells within us rather than following the desires of the sinful (flesh) nature. And we have the authority through the blood of Jesus to walk according the Spirit instead of gratifying the desires of the flesh!

When we live according to the Spirit (that is, seeking Him and being responsive to His guidance) our actions, behaviour and decisions will reflect this.

Galatians 5:22-23

“But the fruit of the Spirit [the result of His presence within us] is love [unselfish concern for others], joy, [inner] peace, patience [not the ability to wait, but how we act while waiting], kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”

And this is where the principle of reaping and sowing comes into play…

When we live according to the Spirit, we sow good seeds, and we will reap a sure reward of eternal life that begins NOW. But when we follow the desires of the flesh, we sow bad seeds, and God’s Word says we will reap nothing but injustice, ruin and destruction.

Galatians 5:19-21

“Now the practices of the sinful nature are clearly evident: they are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality (total irresponsibility, lack of self-control),idolatry, sorcery, hostility, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions [that promote heresies],envy, drunkenness, riotous behaviour, and other things like these.”

What we do in life, and how we treat others matters. As women who belong to Christ Jesus, all of the passions and desires of our sinful nature have been hung on the cross and crucified with Him – and it is our responsibility to live in light of this truth.

If we desire to live in light of this truth (living in a way that is pleasing to God, and in line with our new nature), we must follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives, sowing seeds to the Spirit thus reaping a sure reward. .

And remember; we will reap what we sow not only in quality but in quantity too. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.”