Seeking Truth in a Maelstrom of Uncertainty
One of the challenges facing people today is the sifting through the information presented to us in the media in…
Our family usually plants a garden each spring on the west end of our house. However, this year, we decided to add an addition onto our house in the place where we normally plant our gardens. Therefore, instead we just planted a few plants in pots in our back yard.
The weather combination of rain and sunshine has done wonders for our seeds. But it has also done wonders for weeds. The weeds grow twice as fast and seem impossible to keep out. We didn’t sow them; nevertheless, they show up in droves and invite all their friends and neighbors as well. One is tempted to feel guilty with such an overrun yard. But we didn’t plant these weeds. we just planted the seeds of nice, productive plants.
I shouldn’t feel responsible for the arrival of weeds, but I am responsible to show them the exit. I can’t expect them to leave on their own. It would be irresponsible to simply pray for their miraculous removal. Nor can I simply play ostrich and pretend they are not there. They are there—and there is only one way to deal with them.
This gardening principle holds true for much of life. Many of the “weeds” that creep into our lives are simply the product of living in a fallen world; they arrive like uninvited creeps. At the same time, we should not be naïve to the fact that many of the “weeds” are there because we have actually sown them there. But no matter how they got there, whether they were sown by our sneaky wife, a malicious bird, or our overly competitive neighbor—we have the responsibility to deal with them. We can’t expect the weeds to leave on their own.
On the positive side, we can also be confident that the spiritual seeds we plant will bear fruit in due time. In fact, because God promises such success, we should have far more confidence in a spiritual harvest than a successful garden. God never promised healthy tomatoes. But he repeatedly promises that none of our spiritual investments are in vain.
The principle of sowing and reaping figures prominently throughout the Bible, being referenced over 70 times. Jesus uses it in the parable of the mustard seed (Luke 13); the parable of the minas (Luke 19); the parable of the sower (Mark 4); the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matt 13); the parable of the talents (Matt 25) and in John 4:34-38 in regard to ministry. Interestingly, this principle has both positive and negative implications.
Positive
The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully…He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. (2 Cor 9:6, 10)
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. (1 Cor 15:58)
Negative
As I have seen, those who plow iniquity
and sow trouble reap the same. (Job 4:8)
For they sow the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind. (Hos 8:7)
Negative and Positive
Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. (Gal 6:7-8)
He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; 8 but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. (Rom 2:6-8)
The principle of sowing and reaping teaches that we can have confidence that we will reap in due time. If we sow well, we can wait with patient confidence and know that our labor was not in vain. If we sow poorly however, we can have equal confidence that destruction is on its way.
The bottom line is that what we do matters. Both the small choices and the big choices make a difference. If we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption. If we sow to the Spirit, we will reap spiritual fruit. The foolish decisions we make will bring forth destruction. The wise decisions will in time, reap blessings.
Many Christians assume that because they are saved that this principle no longer applies to them. But such thinking is delusional. In fact, because we are children of the King, we can be doubly sure we will experience the pain of our foolish choices. God is far too loving to leave us without discipline (Heb 12:5-11).
This means that pursuing the world and its lusts will always bring about pain. It is unavoidable. Sin is a lose-lose opportunity. It’s not a 50/50 chance. It’s a one hundred percent guaranteed failure. Heads—Satan wins. Tales—you lose. So, when you are tempted to give into self-pity, to stroke your pride, or yell at the person offending you—remember that you will reap what you sow.
We don’t need to change the world; we simply need to do three things. 1) We need to know what God says. 2) Do what God tells us to do. 3) And tell others what God tells them to do. But if we don’t know what God says, we will most likely act foolishly, sowing destruction. If we know what God says and fail to do it, we will most certainly reap destruction. If we fail to tell others what God says, we can expect them to reap destruction in time as well.
We should not be surprised at current developments in our nation. Folly reaps destruction. Foolish reactions to problems only add gas to the fire. The church’s responsibility is not to keep the world from burning down its effigies. We are to proclaim what our creator has told us and explain that the world writhes in confusion and anger because it ignores his instruction. The only solution to the world’s ills is obedience. It’s not more taxes, it’s not new leaders, and it’s not a new political structure. It is obedience to God.
The greatest public administrator to have ever held office summed it up this way: The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. (Ecc 12:13-14)
