Galatians 6:7-8 NKJV
The Beginning, Part 2
I do not know a lot about farming, but I can differentiate a soybean field from a cornfield. So, basically I know planting a certain kind of crop takes a certain kind of seed.
You cannot plant one kind of seed and expect to get a different kind of plant.
Bottom line, that’s what the Apostle Paul is saying in Galatians 6:7-8, “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
Whatever seed we sow, that is the crop we will get in return.
I’ve known ‘you reap what you sow’ for years but because I worked in a diverse environment during my last ten years I learned that about every major religion in the world has sacred scripture or verbiage that says the same thing in different ways.
You cannot get love if you sow hatred.
You will not get kindness if you sow seeds of cruel injustice.
However, because Jesus came to save us, God does offer help where help is needed. Because Jesus died, we can ask God for the fruit of the Spirit to be alive in our little corner of the world.
If you have a mean-spirited neighbor, you can ask God to give you kindness toward that person. God will help you to be kind. Because God is kind, He will give that characteristic to us. It may not come in an instant, but when we ask and remain open to God, we will be changed into the character and nature of God’s kindness.
Years ago, before I had really even thought about being able to ask God to give me a characteristic of the Spirit, I met a woman who was unkind. My dad was one of the kindest people I knew, and I learned how to be kind, but I learned (the hard way) that everyone wasn’t raised with a kind parent. I don’t think this woman was given that. She was always stopping me at church to tell me about something wrong about my life or about my kids. I got to a point where I ‘ducked’ when I saw her coming.
To this day, I don’t know if she realized what an impact she had on me.
Years after we moved away from there, I spoke with someone who knew her and they told me about troubles she had encountered. I felt bad for her at the time, but now I am reminded that we reap what we sow.
As I write this today I can’t help but wonder if my understanding of scripture today would have helped me deal with her years ago.
If I would have treated her with extreme kindness instead of avoiding her, would that kindness have spread into her life?
If I would have intentionally prayed to ask God to show me how to love her, how would she be different?
How would she have spread seeds of kindness and love to her children?
Would others have been changed that she met?
Of course I don’t have a time machine and I can’t go back. I can’t blame myself for what I didn’t know at the time. There is a saying, “I did the best I could do with what I knew at the time.” I don’t blame myself. But, my new view helps me to see how very much is available to us if we will only ask for God’s help.
I think that’s what Jesus was telling us in John 16:23 when He said, “Whatever you ask in my name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”
Today, I know that when I encounter an unkind person, I can ask God to give me His kindness and love. It’s not my kindness and love that will change that person (I assure you I am not powerful). But by God’s power, God’s love, and God’s kindness, they will be changed.
I only need to ask God to fill me with His character of kindness.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Ask
If you are dealing with a difficult situation or person, or if you feel like you need the fruit of a specific part of God’s character, ask for it today.
In God, Deborah
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