Sowing and Reaping

Published on May 25, 2012 by Doug Swagerty

Dear Church Family,

“You reap what you sow.” That’s not one of those sayings that people believe is in the Bible when it really isn’t.  Like, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” or “God helps those who help themselves.”  No, this one is really there. 

So the question isn’t whether it’s true…the question is how do you respond to it? 

I think there are two basic ways.  The first response is dread: “Oh no…this verse is talking about all the bad things I’ve done catching up with me.”  And certainly that’s part of what it means.  Consequences are part of God’s loving plan to keep us on the right track.

But I was struck today that dread is the “glass half-empty” response to this verse.  The “glass half-full” response is to see this truth as a wonderful God-given opportunity.  And that’s the approach that Paul takes in the passage we will explore on Sunday.  He gets excited about the fact that we reap what we sow, because it means we can take advantage of the countless opportunities we have to do good to others.  And if we sow those seeds of goodness, we’ll reap the harvest. 

So it all really boils down to the main issue in the book of Galatians: will we live in fear or will be live by faith?  I hope you can be with us on Sunday…we may show up feeling like our glasses are half empty, but by God’s grace, we’ll leave believing they are overflowing!

Blessings,
Doug

P.S.  Speaking of opportunities, if you didn’t get a chance to listen to the congregational update from last week, here is the link: http://www.ncpcfamily.org/services/sunday/sermons/3675-congregational-update-meeting.  For those who are interested, we’re going to have a question and answer time after our morning service this Sunday.