Sowing and Reaping

In this post I will be writing about sowing and reaping. First, what is sowing and reaping. Sowing means to plant seeds. Reaping is the harvest of a crop. The bible uses the analogy of sowing and reaping to describe the lives of God's people. You see, if God's people choose to disobey God and do whatever they want, they will reap the consequences. For example if a believer is jealous of others for what they have, they may find themselves one day dealing with evil people jealous of them. If a believer gets drunk all the time, they may get a divorce or loose all their friends. The actions that we do today, lay the ground work for how our lives will turn out. If you are a jerk most of the time, you will be dealing with jerks most of the time. All of our choices have consequences. In my own life I have made some really bad choices, that yielded some really sad fruit. These choices may have been fun at the time, but for those fleeting moments of pleasure I was left heavily damaged for decades. Now if I had changed my ways, and planted good seed, by making Godly choices, I would be reaping a good crop today. It is all about choices, I and many others made some really bad ones. I suffer the consequences to this day over choices I made as a teenager. Now I know better, these last 9 months or so, I have been planting good seed. I have been living a more Godly life. I have cut out a lot of the sin that God hates. It will take time for the crop to grow, but if I continue diligently seeking the lord and walking in the spirit, it will yield a good crop. The thing is, it takes time. It took time for the bad seed I planted to yield a bad crop. Likewise it will take time for the good seed to yield a crop. Most believers have a difficult time with this, myself included. We live in a society of instant gratification, so patience is not always easy. We must however persevere, through difficult times, to finally get the results we want. I struggle everyday over the choices of my past, the torment can be excruciating, but I have faith that in time God will heal my mind and body. I plant the good seed now and make the choice in my life to be obedient to God, and years down the road my life will reflect that. The unbelieving person also has to face consequences for their actions, but often to a lesser degree. I believe God uses sowing and reaping to cultivate a more Godly quality in his people. God will let us make bad choices, but he will also let us deal with the consequences. This can bring up feelings of resentment toward God. I know it did for me. It is not Gods fault, we have to take responsibility for our actions, despite how painful they might be.

Proverbs 20

4 The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

Here is a passage about laziness. If you are unwilling to do the work, you will deal with going without.

Hosea 10

12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Again these verses really drive home sowing and reaping. If you sow in righteousness, you will reap God's mercy. Breaking up fallowed ground, means to break up the parts of yourself hardened toward God. Seeking the Lord in all you do will rain righteousness on you. The last verse states the opposite. Sowing in disobedience will reap immorality and Gods disapproval.

Galatians 6

7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.

8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.

This is one of my favorite verses about sowing and reaping. It says, that if anyone thinks they can live in sin and get away with, God will make sure they pay for it.

II Corinthians 9

6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

8 And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work:

9 (As it is written, He hath dispersed abroad; he hath given to the poor: his righteousness remaineth for ever.

10 Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness;)

11 Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.

This section deals with sowing sparingly and bountifully. If you are willing to sow and give bountifully, God will make sure your needs are met and you will have sufficiency in all things. In doing so we become thankful to God and grow in grace and righteousness.

Thank you for reading my blog and I will leave you with the only way to heaven, the gospel.

I Corinthians 15

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: