The Laws of Sowing and Reaping

(Galatians 6:7-10)

God has ordained laws of Sowing and Reaping to encourage us to be careful of what and how we sow. Failure to understand these laws is probably a major reason why so many people "have planted the wind and will harvest the whirlwind" (Hosea 8:7). God will not be mocked! What we sow is what we will surely reap. Just as reaping the seeds for corn will produce corn and not beans, sowing seeds of wickedness will bring forth corruption and even more wickedness. However, if we sow “in the spirit” we will reap everlasting life.

Understanding this, we are given three calls:

(1)   We are called to good planting… (Verses 7-8)

If we will reap what we sow, why wouldn’t we plant good seeds? I personally am not that keen of plums, so I would not plant plums. Just as we would not purposefully plant seeds for fruits we do not want, we should not sow seeds of spiritual fruits we would not want to reap. We are called to sow good seed.

(2)   We are called to great patience… (Verse 9)

After planting a seed, it takes time for it to produce. It would be foolish for a farmer to grow weary one week after planting his crop and then sell the farm. We must be patient for the harvest of the good fruits we have planted. Paul tells the Galatians to not grow weary in doing the right thing.

There may not be immediate results in sowing seeds of faithfulness, generosity, evangelism, and prayer, but if we are patient we will reap. We will harvest in the right season.

(3)   We are called to generous practices… (Verse 10)

If it’s true that good seed will produce good fruit, if we are patient, then we should go out and do good to everyone. We should use every opportunity we have to sow generosity.

Note: There is no “in season” or “out season” for sowing seeds of generosity and kindness (as or when we have opportunity). There is no restriction of where we can sow either. There are no boundaries - all men! Here are the basic for Laws of Sowing and Reaping:

The type of seed sown determines the nature of your harvest. The type of seed you sow determines the type of harvest you will reap (Galatians 6:7, 8). Good seed produces a good harvest, and bad seed a bad harvest. The majority of us sow mostly non-spiritual seed, therefore, we reap largely non-spiritual harvests. This does not seem so bad when enjoying physical rewards, whilst having a few spiritual needs met, but when tests, trials or illness came along we require spiritual rewards to deal with them.
The quantity of seed sown determines the level of your return. The quantity of seed sown is very important. "He who sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6). This law explains why those who sow much more physical seed, end up with grossly disproportionate spiritual harvests (to their regret). We are like farmers who sow far too much of the wrong crops.
You cannot sow except in the right season. You cannot choose to sow at any time that you fancy because to everything there is a season and time to every purpose under heaven - a time to plant and a time to reap (Ecclesiastes 6:1, 2). In most cases the best time to sow is spring time (when things are fresh).
There is an amount of time between sowing and reaping. There’s always a lag-period between sowing and reaping, therefore, you must "not be weary in well doing: for in due season you shall reap, if you do not grow weary" (Galatians 6:9). Generally, the better the type of harvest, the longer the lag-period. Applying this general principle, you would expect the lag-period for spiritual harvests to be longer than for physical harvests.
This is a spiritual law and not an exact science. As with most things in this imperfect earth, the laws of sowing and reaping are not perfectly implemented here. God allows many exceptions to test whether we really believe God's promise that "whatsoever a man sows that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7)?

Applications in the non-spiritual realm: Are you over-sowing "seeds of materialism" which will result in an over-harvest of material things? You must be careful of what you sow in your physical body - are you sowing seeds of ill heath with cigarettes, alcohol, overeating, lack of exercise? Are you sowing "seeds of neglect" with your loved ones so that you will eventually reap a "harvest of neglect" yourself??
Applications in the spiritual realm: Are you sowing too little spiritual seeds to see you through your times of trials, illnesses and old age? Are we sowing in spring time - when you are fresh?

Chris Demetriou, 24/10/2010