The Law of the Harvest

“Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 9And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” (Gal. 6:7-9).

God has ordained certain unchanging laws to govern that universe and our spiritual lives. In the above passage the Apostle Paul explains how the laws of the harvest have vital implications not only in our physically world but more importantly in our spiritual lives as well. First of all Paul wrote, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting” (Ga. 6:7-8).

The soil of a farmer’s field will not produce a harvest unless the farmer invests seeds in his field. Everyday a Christian is sowing seeds through our thoughts, actions, and the decisions that they make. These seed sowing decisions can involve things like who we choose to spend time with, how we spend our money and what we choose to view on the internet. The seeds that we sow can also be what our minds choose to dwell on. What we reap as a result of our thoughts, actions and decision will be determined by where we sow these seeds. If we sow to the flesh—if we make decision that are contrary to God’s will for our lives, if we choose to view pornography on the internet, if we choose to entertain impure thoughts we will reap corruption. It’s been said that if we sow a thought we will reap an action. If we sow an action we will reap a habit. If we sow a habit we will reap a character. If we sow a character we will reap a destiny. Every sin that we commit begins with a thought that we sow—that we choose to entertain. These sinful suggestions that we do not arrest with the truth but instead choose to dwell on will produce desires. These desires will become intentions and these intentions will turn into actions and these actions will become stored memories. These stored memories (seeds) can continue to feed this cycle of sowing that will continue to reap more and more misery and corruption in our lives.

Thankfully this law of reaping and sowing also applies to our spiritual lives. If we sow to the Spirit—if we invest our time, energies, and money in the things of the Spirit of God that he has provided us to strengthen our spiritual lives, we will reap life everlasting. Life everlasting is more than knowing that you’re going to heaven when you die. Jesus said, “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent” (John 17:3). To reap life everlasting means developing a deeper walk with God and enjoying more of his fullness in our lives. To reap life everlasting also means that the fruit of the Spirit (Christlikeness) is being produced in a believer’s life (Gal. 6:22-23). If we do not sow to the things of the Spirit like the word of God we will not reap spiritual dividends. That is the law of sowing and reaping—that is a promise that you can bank on.

The second essential law of the harvest that Paul refers to has to do with patience and perseverance. Paul wrote, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal. 6:9). When a farmer sows good seeds he does not immediately reap a harvest. He must patiently wait and persevere. “…Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.” (James 5:7b). In order to reap a fruitful harvest we must not only sow some good seed but we must patiently wait. Spiritual growth and fruitfulness does not happen overnight. “Sometimes the things that count the most seem to take the longest to get here. Some giant sequoias in California are 300 feet tall—that’s the height of a 30 story building! And each one began with the smallest of seeds that began growing and maturing since before the time of Christ! That’s a long time! You may be saying that you’re going to serve God. And you start to do something. But when you don’t reap a harvest immediately, you get discouraged. Don’t try to hurry the harvest. In due season, you will reap" (Adrian Rogers).

The following is a well known poem entitled “Don’t Quit that has encouraged many who have felt like throwing in the towel that remind me of this harvest principle of patience and perseverance:

“When things go wrong, as they sometimes will, When the road you're trudging seems all up hill, When the funds are low, and the debts are high, And you want to smile, but you have to sigh, When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't u quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns, as everyone of us sometimes learns, And many a failure turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out. Don't give up though the pace seems slow, you may succeed with another blow.

Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt, And you never can tell how close you r, It may be near when it seems so far, So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, It's when things seem worse, That u must not quit."

Don’t get discouraged if you’ve been faithfully sowing the good seed—if you’ve been investing in the things of the spirit of God. Remember that the law of the harvest is more than a law it’s God’s promise. You will reap if you faint not.