We harvest what we plant

“Do not be fooled: You cannot cheat God. People harvest only what they plant." (Galatians 6:7 NCV)

One of the great principles of agriculture is that what we plant is what we will eventually harvest. Can you imagine what it would be like if a farmer planted his seed in the spring but didn’t know what would come up? Thankfully when beans are planted then it is beans that eventually can be picked. If it is tomatoes we will eventually get to eat tomatoes. It works this way all the time, every time, and this has continued since the beginning. Remember what the first chapter of the Bible told us about God’s creation: “The earth produced plants with grain for seeds and trees that made fruits with seeds in them. Each seed grew its own kind of plant. God saw that all this was good.” (Genesis 1:12)

Why is it that we understand this in the physical world but think it will be different for us spiritually? Why do many think we can live doing whatever they like but in the end they will end up in heaven with God? Why do people think that how we live doesn’t matter? Remember what Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians: “People harvest only what they plant.”

“If they plant to satisfy their sinful selves, their sinful selves will bring them ruin. But if they plant to please the Spirit, they will receive eternal life from the Spirit.” (Galatians 6:8)

This principle we see in the physical world also applies spiritually. The planting Paul is talking about in this letter is how a person lives their lives. If they live only to satisfy themselves, then that will not bring eternal life. How could it? Why would someone think that living to please themselves would please God? Some seem to have the idea that if we are Christians it doesn’t matter what we do, that God will still accept us (and I’ve heard a few Christians say this). This is so far from reality!

If we want to receive eternal life with Jesus then we have to live so that we are pleasing God’s Spirit. We have to change our lives to reflect the new life we have that is different from what we see around us. This only makes sense: we can only harvest what we plant. 

Sometimes, though, we may become frustrated when we are doing what we know God wants yet others who don’t seem to have better lives. This is an age-old problem. The psalmist (Asaph is identified as the writer of this psalm) talked about his frustration when he looked around at others. “But I had almost stopped believing; I had almost lost my faith because I was jealous of proud people. I saw wicked people doing well” (Psalms 73:2-3). How discouraged he was – just read the next few verses of this psalm. He was frustrated with life, until he considered the eternal implications. “I tried to understand all this, but it was too hard for me to see until I entered God’s sanctuary. Then I understood what will happen to them” (Psalms 73:16-17). Paul put it this way:

“We must not become tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time if we do not give up. When we have the opportunity to help anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” (Galatians 6:9-10)

Doing good may not always be rewarded in this life, but we still need to do good. Why? Because we are now God’s children. This is a family characteristic that our Father has and shows that we are his. Keep going no matter what! There will be a harvest of eternal life if we don’t give up.

We are in the season of giving. But we need to be helping any that we can whenever we see a need, and especially other Christians. We need to truly learn the joy of giving – all year round!

Image by Binyamin Mellish from pexels.com.

Readings for next week: Galatians 5-6; Mark 1