Sowing in the Fields
What is being produced in your “field of life?”

I was recently reminded of the principle of
cause and effect,
sowing and reaping,
the natural and the spiritual
—by a song I listened to.

A beautiful reminder in an unexpected way.

The song by the Gaither Vocal Band says,
“You always reap exactly what you sow.”
— and then calls us to sow
mercy,
grace,
kindness,
and faith.

I could not shake the lyrics of that powerful message as I pondered the question:
What am I sowing in the field of my life, and what is my life reaping?

Galatians 6:7 says,
“…for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

This is not merely a proverbial saying.
It is a natural law.
Everyone knows, especially farmers, that to produce a harvest of wheat,
wheat seed must be scattered into the ground.

A thornbush does not bear figs,
and a bramble bush does not bear grapes.
Jesus speaks to this same truth in Luke 6:43–44.

It is a simple and unchanging law of nature:
The harvest always follows the seed.

Matthew Henry wrote, “Our present time is seed-time.”

Harvest comes in two realms.

There is a harvest in this life
—in our relationships, character, peace, witness, and usefulness.

There is also a harvest in eternity,
as God rewards what was sown to the Spirit.

Paul reminds us that we are to do good now,
and in due time, we will reap if we do not give up (Galatians 6:9-10).

As the song played, I found myself thinking intently about the here and now,
because this is where life is lived and seed is being scattered.

Every day, we are sowing something—either good seed or bad seed.
It seemed like the perfect time to take inventory of my own field
and consider the harvest being produced.

What we sow in the Spirit bears eternal fruit,
but it also shapes the harvest in our earthly lives
—the day-to-day relationships we have, the character we display,
the peace and witness that we walk in and in service.

When we scatter seed in our lives,
we are preparing for a harvest that affects not only us,
but others as well.

Consider this:
Mercy yields compassion.
When we sow mercy, we make room for care, forgiveness, and restoration.

Grace yields freedom.
When we sow grace, we free the grip of shame, insensitivity, and condemnation.
Grace gives others room to grow in grace as well.

Kindness yields tenderness.
When we sow kindness, we cultivate love, encouragement, and trust. And,

Faith yields endurance.
When we sow the seed of faith, we keep planting even before we see the harvest.
Faith trusts God with the seed, the ground, the season, and the outcome.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons is this:

We cannot reap the things of God unless we sow the seeds of the Spirit.
Mercy, grace, kindness, and faith are holy seeds.
They are the kind of seeds that produce the harvest believers should desire.

We can also sow to the flesh, but that harvest will produce what the flesh always produces
—self-centeredness, bitterness, and misguided passions.

There is a harvest waiting. There is a field before us.
And for the Christian who sows good seed,
seed of the Spirit,
there is fruit that reaches beyond the present moment and into eternity.

Why not choose today to sow the good seed.

Let your field of life produce what is eternal.

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