LEARNING DAILY

 

Galatians 6:8-10, For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

 

Have you ever wondered if you quit something just before you had the opportunity to experience the blessings for what you were doing? The answer is you don’t know. Whenever a person is doing something good, something worthwhile, adversity can be expected to raise its ugly head. When you are trying to do good, you must be aware that evil is lurking, trying to disrupt what you are doing. This is the time to concentrate on sowing the seed, the good you are doing.

 

As Christians, we must sow to please God; we cannot sow seed to please the sinful nature. Let me refer you back to Galatians 5:15-21 to be reminded what sowing to please the flesh is. As a born-again follower of Jesus Christ, you and I cannot continue to sow to the sinful nature and expect to receive blessings from God. John Stott describes sowing to the flesh this way “to pander it, to cuddle or stroke it, instead of crucifying it, every time we allow our mind to harbor a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity we are sowing to the flesh…. Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.”

 

Often, we want to see immediate results of doing good even when the results do not seem imminent. That is the point many lose heart and quit.  I have been there and you probably have been there as well. Here is an encouraging word from Luke 18:1, “Then He spoke in a parable to them, that men ought to always pray and not lose heart.” 1 Corinthians 15:58 tells us, “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” God has promised that we shall reap in due time. We must not forget in the difficult times, when we may be seeing little results, that our responsibility is to sow the seed and the harvest belongs to God!

 

It is important to do good to unbelievers. It is even more important to do good, to show our love to the “household of faith” – that is our brothers and sister in Christ. None of us are immune from the traps sin can spring; any of us can fall into sin. How we act toward a brother and sister in restoring that person can be a test of our love for God.

 

We all need the encouragement to keep going at times. Don’t quit! Persevere knowing the harvest will come in due time. Because Jesus Christ is with us, guiding us, we have no reason to stop doing the good He is leading us to do.