SOWING AND REAPING

Be not deceived, God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he
also reap.
Galatians 6:7

It is the time in our small town for vegetable gardens. If anyone is going to have one on their property, it is already in process. Our neighbor always puts out a beautiful garden. He carefully measures out each row to the inch and as certain things begin to come up, he has various props to keep them secure.

My first experience with gardens, however, was in the 1940's when I was just a little girl. During those years, people were encouraged to plant what was called “victory gardens.” It was the time of World War II and it was hoped that by doing that, there would be other foods that could go to the soldiers at home and overseas if family gardens took up the slack. At least, that was what I was told. We had some neighbors with beautiful gardens. We didn't have one, but we had chickens in our backyard. Neighbors shared food items with each other and we shared eggs and sometimes whole chickens. It was really a wonderful and healthy process during the spring and summer months. Some gardens produced enough to eat, share and can for the winter.

My Grandma Benbrook (my Dad's mom) had a beautiful, large garden in her backyard. She had some vegetables I had never heard of. She was known in our town for winning first place prizes for her flower garden plots, but she could really grow a mean tomato. The first raw carrot I ever ate, she let me pull it out of the ground, showed me how to wash it and then I chomped on that thing for the rest of the afternoon.

Mr. Rennie, two houses down from my early childhood house also had a large vegetable garden. I could go there and he would let me pick a tomato to eat. He would pick one too and we would sit on his back steps eating our tomatoes. His only requirement was that if I picked it, I had to eat it while on his steps.

One day, Mr. Rennie brought out a cloth bag that had a lot of seeds in it. After pouring some into his hand, he asked if I knew what they looked like. They looked like dried up corn to me and that's what they were. He saved them and allowed them to dry. He had taken them from some ears of corn from his garden and planned to plant them the next spring. That's just what he did the next year and again had beautiful corn stalks in his garden with huge ears of corn just waiting to be cooked and eaten.

I didn't understand until further in years the significance of just one of those kernels of corn. When planted, one of those kernels could bring forth a beautiful stalk of corn, a stalk on which there could be at least 4-5 ears of delicious corn. However, look at one of those ears of corn after shucked and count how many kernels are on that ear...each a potential stalk of corn in someone's garden. Tomatoes are full of tiny seeds, all potential for bringing forth a lot of tomatoes in someone's garden if the seeds are harvested, dried and kept for planting.

One of our pastors had a great quote this week that I think he said was from Dr Charles Stanley with regard to sowing and reaping. He said regarding the law of sowing and reaping:

Reap what you sow
Reap more than you sow
Reap later than you sow.

We may feel we can live life unpleasing to the Lord, living in such a way that seems harmless in our lives and lives of others. There are things done in younger years that we perhaps thought we got by with, that even Jesus ignored. If those things are evil, of sin, those same things can come back to us often in abundance. We may even be caught off guard in later years, surprised that something familiar has shown up in our lives that causes shame. Yes, God is forgiving of our sin and I'm so grateful for that fact. There are some things we may not be proud of that can follow us.

I remind us that when a corn kernel is planted, from it will grow corn and only corn. If I plant a tomato seed, it won't produce squash. I can be assured that tomato seed will give me a tomato plant full of red, ripe tomatoes. We can't sow onions and expect green beans to appear.

This doesn't mean this law has only to do with sin. There are things we can plant in the lives of our children, friends, fellow Christians and others that can bring forth a positive yield. Our opening verse sounds rather foreboding... no hope...all negative. However, we need to move on to the next two verses (8,9) that give us positive encouragement:

For he that soweth to his flesh shall of
the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth
to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap
life everlasting.

So as usual, we come back to choices...the flesh or the Spirit. The flesh will count for nothing, only leaving damage in our wake. Those things of the Spirit are those things that count for God and eternity. I'm glad Paul added the next verse to encourage us:

And let us not be weary in well doing:
for in due season we shall reap,
if we faint not.

I love that because sometimes, I get weary in well doing. I don't just want to go around being an evil influence. Let's be real, friends, Godly living takes work. If we want to please our Heavenly Father we are going to want to reproduce good things of the Spirit. What we sow in this life can come back to either haunt us or bless us in abundance.

Dear Father, please keep me aware through Your Holy Spirit that my negative actions can be costly both now and in the future not only for myself but for others. I want to be a blessing in the lives of others and want Your blessing in my own life. Forgive me for disappointing You and failing you. I want to sow good seed for Your glory. In Jesus name...Amen