This morning in church, Pastor John taught on Galations chapter 6, verses 7-10....
(7)Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. (8)The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. (9)Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (10)Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
He mentioned how seeds are very particular little specimens... if you plant a pumpkin seed, it will surly not sprout up a hedgehog. Whatever seeds you plant, are what you get. Makes sense so far, right? Then he went on and honestly, I'm not sure if I just started my thinking wheels or if he said this himself in his message... but planting is not the only thing that goes on before the reaping.
I just read a book called, "Leota's Garden," by Francine Rivers. Love that woman's words... she's so good. Anyway, the book mentioned a good deal of the care that this little old crippled lady spent on her garden. Agonizing hours. Her fingers blistered. Her back ached. Her nose was constantly whipped by the heat of the sun. Her knees were blackened by the relentless embraces of the dirt.
Ok, so let's back track. We reap what we sow. Got it. Bam. Understood.
Ok, so we put a seed in the ground, and it will grow. Ok, class that's all today, you can all go home, see you tomorrow. False. That's not where it ends. If our fingers aren't getting blistered, if our backs don't ache, if our noses aren't sunburnt, and if our knees don't resemble my feet after a few days at Creation, we didn't finish the job.
If we were to simply decide what seeds to plant, and then walk away, it's like saying we forgive someone, and then continuing to living in bitterness. It just doesn't meet up.
We won't get roses, even if we planted the right seeds if we didn't carry through the work. If we didn't work to keep the seeds in the ground, if we didn't weed the crap that tries to wrestle with the growing harvest, if we didn't clip what needed to be clipped, and water what needed to be watered.... nobody's gonna have any flowers to pick.
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