What the wicked dreads will overtake him. What the righteous desire will be
granted. ~Proverbs 10:24
Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A person reaps what he or she sows. The one who sows to please the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing well, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. ~Galatians 6:7-10
If you fail to do this, (keep your word), you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. ~Numbers 32:23
I think that it’s pretty common to expect others to treat you the way you treat them. I suppose that’s kind of another way of stating what is commonly known as “The Golden Rule.” “So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) This usually works because we assume that other people think like we do. That should make it easy. That’s probably why this proverb works. The wicked are afraid because, despite their bravado, they know who they are and what they’ve done, so they have to live a life of looking over their shoulder. They assume that, eventually, it’s going to catch up with them.
The righteous know that it’s just a matter of time and then everything will fall into place and all will be well. Or, to quote the fairy tales, “and they lived happily ever after!”
Usually, that is the case. A person’s poor choices do catch up with them and those who walk uprightly do end up better in the end. So, where is a lesson here? I think there is a lesson in grace.
Consider The Prodigal Son. You have one young man who would probably be wicked, at least by the standards of the day. Then, you have a man who certainly thought of himself as righteous and, chances are, the surrounding community would agree. When the Prodigal came home, he had pretty low expectations for how he would be received. If he had been shunned by his father and the community, it would have been what he deserved, and he knew it. He expected to reap what he had sown. If all he ended up being was a lowly servant, he could accept that. At least he would be fed.
The older brother assumed that he should be treated better because he had been a good son. He couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong. So, he was looking forward to reaping what he had sown, except that, the father’s grace toward the Prodigal son revealed the truly prideful heart of the older one, and pride is not to be tolerated in God’s presence making him just as guilty as the Prodigal.
The prideful son did not realize that he had sown the sins of pride and conceit that over-looked his own faults and had also sown the sin of judgmentalism, by despising his younger brother and his father’s grace. Yet it is that grace that changes our hearts so that we truly can sow to the Spirit as we are taught in the Galatians passage. Without God's Grace, no matter how good we are, we are sowing seeds of self-righteousness in an effort to earn salvation. And putting any confidence in our own efforts is futile and leads to death!
Question: “What does God’s grace toward sinners reveal in you?” In truth, we are all guilty. We are all wicked and probably deserve the fate that we dread. It’s because of Christ, and His righteousness that those of us who are in Him will not reap what we have sown! Instead, we will receive what we desire, eternal life in His presence. There is nothing righteous in us. Isaiah says: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) Thanks be to God for His amazing grace that does not give us what we deserve and dread, but shares with us what only He deserves, eternal life, through the gift of His forgiveness and the shedding of His blood on the cross for our sins and wickedness.
Prayer: Holy Father, thank you for the grace that changes my nature and welcomes me into Your Family so that I am now free from the need to earn salvation and thus enabled to see myself as a beloved prodigal, able to love support other prodigals and sow to the Spirit, sowing seeds of the gospel of Your Grace. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Grace Wins
Do not be deceived, God cannot be mocked. A person reaps what he or she sows. The one who sows to please the sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing well, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. ~Galatians 6:7-10
If you fail to do this, (keep your word), you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. ~Numbers 32:23
I think that it’s pretty common to expect others to treat you the way you treat them. I suppose that’s kind of another way of stating what is commonly known as “The Golden Rule.” “So, in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 7:12) This usually works because we assume that other people think like we do. That should make it easy. That’s probably why this proverb works. The wicked are afraid because, despite their bravado, they know who they are and what they’ve done, so they have to live a life of looking over their shoulder. They assume that, eventually, it’s going to catch up with them.
The righteous know that it’s just a matter of time and then everything will fall into place and all will be well. Or, to quote the fairy tales, “and they lived happily ever after!”
Usually, that is the case. A person’s poor choices do catch up with them and those who walk uprightly do end up better in the end. So, where is a lesson here? I think there is a lesson in grace.
Consider The Prodigal Son. You have one young man who would probably be wicked, at least by the standards of the day. Then, you have a man who certainly thought of himself as righteous and, chances are, the surrounding community would agree. When the Prodigal came home, he had pretty low expectations for how he would be received. If he had been shunned by his father and the community, it would have been what he deserved, and he knew it. He expected to reap what he had sown. If all he ended up being was a lowly servant, he could accept that. At least he would be fed.
The older brother assumed that he should be treated better because he had been a good son. He couldn’t think of anything he had done wrong. So, he was looking forward to reaping what he had sown, except that, the father’s grace toward the Prodigal son revealed the truly prideful heart of the older one, and pride is not to be tolerated in God’s presence making him just as guilty as the Prodigal.
The prideful son did not realize that he had sown the sins of pride and conceit that over-looked his own faults and had also sown the sin of judgmentalism, by despising his younger brother and his father’s grace. Yet it is that grace that changes our hearts so that we truly can sow to the Spirit as we are taught in the Galatians passage. Without God's Grace, no matter how good we are, we are sowing seeds of self-righteousness in an effort to earn salvation. And putting any confidence in our own efforts is futile and leads to death!
Question: “What does God’s grace toward sinners reveal in you?” In truth, we are all guilty. We are all wicked and probably deserve the fate that we dread. It’s because of Christ, and His righteousness that those of us who are in Him will not reap what we have sown! Instead, we will receive what we desire, eternal life in His presence. There is nothing righteous in us. Isaiah says: “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” (Isaiah 64:6) Thanks be to God for His amazing grace that does not give us what we deserve and dread, but shares with us what only He deserves, eternal life, through the gift of His forgiveness and the shedding of His blood on the cross for our sins and wickedness.
Prayer: Holy Father, thank you for the grace that changes my nature and welcomes me into Your Family so that I am now free from the need to earn salvation and thus enabled to see myself as a beloved prodigal, able to love support other prodigals and sow to the Spirit, sowing seeds of the gospel of Your Grace. In Jesus' name, amen.
Song: Grace Wins
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