The Law of the Harvest

Reaping and Sowing...

This seems to be a recent theme in my thoughts lately. Recently one of my children was having trouble getting along with one of her siblings. I brought her into my room and drew a picture of a garden for her. I explained as I drew that if a farmer plants corn, well, corn is what comes up. There is no way that farmer can plant corn and expect carrots to pop up at harvest time.

Elizabeth George says in A Woman After God's Own Heart that we are what we've been becoming. In other words if you are healthy, it's because you have been doing things to stay healthy. You are reaping what has been sown. If you are out of shape, you probably have not been sowing seeds of regular excercise. I know that in a fallen world there are people who are sick not because of their own choices, but many of us have made choices that have caused us to have less than perfect health.

The law of the harvest applies to every single area of our lives: finances, health, relationships, etc. It seems like it would be a good idea to consider what kind of harvest you hope to have later on and then plants those kinds of seeds now. I hope to have a strong marriage that is as enjoyable in the retirement years as in our newlywed days (moreso actually). What seeds need to be sown to reap that kind of harvest? I also hope to have close relationships with my daughters. When I enter heaven I want to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant." Have I done anything today toward that end?

I listen to Walk in the Word as a podcast. Recently, James MacDonald was teaching about this principle of sowing and reaping too. He made a point which I have been considering...you reap in a later season than you sow. The farmer plants in the spring but he harvests in the fall. I can see this in my life now. The good and the bad in my life is because of choices I have already made. This can be great news though...I can plant seeds now that will reap a harvest of righteousness later. I can choose how to spend my time, how to speak, what to eat, how to spend my money, etc. Yes, there are consequences for poor choices, but there are also rewards for wise choices!

Galations 6:7 says Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; For whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. But don't we live in a culture where it seems like people get away with stuff all the time? Don't many live like God can can be mocked? I am taking God at His word, believing that one day everything will be set right. Those seeds of both righteousness and wickedness will be harvested.

Something else I see in Galations is that we should not lose heart. I've never lived on a farm, but as a Little House on the Prairie enthusiast, I think I can say that farming is very hard work. There is a lot to sowing seeds and keeping the fields in good shape until the harvest. Maybe that is why we are encouraged in Galations 6:9 by these words, Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. It is hard to keep teaching my children when they don't seem to be understanding. It is hard to return a kind word for an unkind word. How many times have I said, "I am tired of this!" But God tells us to keep going...the harvest will come up.

So I am going to keep praying for a good harvest...good fruit...in my life and in the lives of my loved ones. I am asking God to help me remember these principles from His word. And I am asking Him to help me believe it too. I will plant the seeds, but I am trusting God to do the rest. He will be the one to send the rain and the sun. And I will enjoy the harvest in due time.