Caution (v. 7)
- Do not disrespect God’s person
- Do not disrespect God’s plan
Consideration (v. 8)
- Sow to the flesh: Reap corruption
- Sow to the Spirit: Reap everlasting life
Encouragement (v.9)
- Don’t give up
- Don’t give out
Exercise (v. 10)
- Take advantage of opportunities
- Take care of one another
More to Consider
But God has also told us to be careful where we sow, and it is this principle that Paul deals with here. He looks on our material possessions as seed, and he sees two possible kinds of soil: the flesh and the Spirit. We can use our material goods to promote the flesh, or to promote the things of the Spirit. But once we have finished sowing, we cannot change the harvest.
Warren W. Wiersbe
Paul’s point is that there are natural laws in the spiritual as well as the material realms. Sow seeds in the ground and in time they produce a crop. In the same way the moral acts a person sows produce a crop as well. There’s a story of a farmer who ridiculed his churchgoing neighbors, worked every Sunday, and had a bumper crop. He sent a letter to the local paper deriding their faith. His profit proved God didn’t care—or couldn’t act. Paul said God is not mocked: Our acts are seeds, growing slowly, but sure to produce a crop in keeping with our planting. The paper’s editor understood the principle, and after the farmer’s letter printed this observation. “God hasn’t harvested His crops yet.”
Lawrence O. Richards
Charles Francis Adams, 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: "Went fishing with my son today--a day wasted." His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: "Went fishing with my father--the most wonderful day of my life!" The father thought he was wasting his time while fishing with his son, but his son saw it as an investment of time. The only way to tell the difference between wasting and investing is to know one's ultimate purpose in life and to judge accordingly.
Silas Shotwell, Homemade, September, 1987.
The Truth Concerning Sowing and Reaping
- You reap what you sow.
- You reap more than you sow.
- You reap later than you sow.
