S152P6 – Our saintly duty: sow in the Spirit
Gal. 5:6-9
Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.
The idea of reaping and sowing should be obvious and logical to us. There are so many areas of life in which we see this principle at play by default. As I navigated my high school years, my classmates and I would discuss what we wanted to be as adults. Those who wanted to be scientists knew they had to develop an aptitude for science. Those who wanted to be musicians knew they had to immerse themselves in music. To become that person, each had to do the work necessary to develop the requisite knowledge and skill. We excel at what we have put in the work to learn. There is an equation by which our time, effort and dedication combine to produce an outcome, and that works both naturally and spiritually.
No one has the option to go through the years of this life and sow nothing. We all participate in this process. There are those who will do very little and invest very little energy, but they are still sowing. Unfortunately, the fruit they will bear will disappoint. It is the same for those who sow in the flesh and the things of this world. They might experience what looks like good fruit in this system of things, but they eventually will bear spiritual emptiness. That leads to judgment and destruction. The children of God are called to sow in the Spirit so that they will bear the spiritual fruit the kingdom needs. That spiritual fruit has consequences in the here and now as well as in eternity.
If anyone should know how sowing and reaping works, it should be the children of God. We are taught in the scriptures that we must work out our salvation with fear and trembling, and the ultimate fruit of our sowing is eternal salvation. The spiritual walk God has for us does not happen by chance. It is not a fate developing on its own. There is work for us to do, and that is how we sow spiritually. Whether obeying, praying, teaching, encouraging, loving or following any other biblical command, we are sowing in the Spirit. This is not something we do in a moment but is a way of living. Father, help us to live conscious of where we sow, and allow us to see the fruit that comes when we sow in the Spirit.