He who sows wickedness reaps trouble, and the rod of his fury will be destroyed. ~Proverbs 22:8
Do not testify against your neighbor without cause or use your lips to deceive. Do not say, “I will pay him back for what he did!” ~Proverbs 24:28-29
“But I tell you that men will have to give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” ~Matthew 12:36-37
Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ~Galatians 6:7-8
As those of you who are gardeners know, it’s pretty common to attach an empty seed package to a stake at the end of a just planted row to identify what to expect in the harvest. If you didn’t get what was expected when harvest time comes round, the company that you purchased the seed from would probably get a letter, listing your observation, or maybe even complaint? You were expecting to reap what you had sown. Anything other than that would be a surprise that probably wouldn’t be appreciated.
However, during the growing season, for some plants, it can be harder to tell a difference. First of all, at planting, if you begin with seed, outdoors, (I do realize that this might be more rare in Michigan), there’s nothing to see. Then, little plants begin to sprout, but even then, they are just little green plants. It would take a very expert eye to distinguish one from another at that stage.
Then the plants begin to grow and begin distinguishing themselves from one another. Weeds also appear and, when they are recognized, removed. Plants can’t help but be what they were intended to be. Eventually they will bear the fruit of what you have sown, which is what you want.
It works that way in the unseen, spiritual world as well. Whatever kinds of seeds we grow in the gardens of our souls will not stay hidden forever. They will bear the fruit that they were intended to bear. When the harvest comes, it will be obvious whether our seed package was full of the real thing, or something else.
If we sow seeds of dissention and anger in our hearts, we can cover them up with a smiling face on our package for a while, but eventually, the true fruit will appear. As the proverbs says, if we sow wickedness, eventually we will reap weeds of fury which will need to be destroyed before they spread. If there is vengeance being sown in the heart, eventually, it’s fruit too will be shown for what it is.
It’s important to remember that this principle works for everyone. This isn’t a message just to target us, causing us to examine ourselves, though that is not a bad thing. Everyone, the good and the bad, are sowing seeds into their lives and souls that will be revealed at the harvest eventually. It may happen here in the seen world, but it will happen for sure in the unseen world, at the judgment. No one is going to get away with being evil. No one will slip into heaven unseen or be sentenced to hell accidently. We never need to fear that a mistake will happen. We may want to tend to our garden and replace some of our seeds. Praise the Lord that we still have time to do so. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
Prayer: Father help me sow seeds of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, in my own heart as well as in the world around me, to reap a good harvest of the fruit of the Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: Bringing in the Sheaves
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