Do you believe you reap what you sow?

I used to take the Blue Line to work and walk about four blocks to the school I was teaching at. There was one "gentleman" who I passed every morning. He was out sweeping his walk way. As soon  as he saw me he would just start cussing me out and continue until I was out of earshot. I would just say, "Good morning!" One day I caught him just before he started cussing at me and said, "Good morning!" first. He said, "Good morning, sir." from that day on. It's funny because I could of said something mean back to him about his family, father, and mother (as he had said to me), but, God granted me grace and I just said, "Good morning!" After that I reaped a very pleasant, "Good morning, sir." every day. 

"Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who saves to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good. For at the proper time we will reap a harvest of we do not give up." Galatians 6:7-9 

Isn't it amazing that Paul expresses this as an axiomatic truth and he only leaves two possible routes and outcomes? "God cannot be mocked." I have met a lot of people who think they are not bound by this principle. I worked under a Principal once who fired their whole counseling team (in truth because they refused to be bullied by her). The principal smugly felt she won. What she sowed was a beginning of a year without anyone to program the students. It was a serious mess. 

Paul tells us the reality, the truth, of how we reap what we sow. There is either destruction or eternal life as fruit to be harvested. If we sow to our sinful nature, even if we call ourselves Christians, we will reap death. Death to relationships, death to hope. Or, if we sow to the Spirit and do not become weary of doing good, we will reap eternal life. Eternal life breathed into our relationships and into our hope.

I encourage you to sow to the Spirit. What is one good thing you can do today? What can you do for your spouse? Your children? Your work partners? Sow today, the harvest will come. 

Father, forgive us for when we have sown to the sinful nature. Help us to sow to the Spirit and to not grow weary in doing good. Big or small, help us to do good to others today. Praise be to you in us today!