I shared this as a sermon on Sunday but wanted to refresh even my own thinking through a blog post.
So often we hear verse seven of Galatians six negatively. You will even hear these words coming through the mouths of people who may not understand the biblical implications: "Well...you reap what you sow!" How many times I have said it in my own life when people lose a job, destroy a relationship, etc. I'm actually asking the Lord to help me with this. The challenge is to see these words positively. To understand that we can sow GOOD seed. We can sow things that bring life rather than death. Not only is it a challenge to see these verses in a positive light, it's a challenge to live them out from time to time. However, the benefits are enormous.
What if...
We didn't allow negative words to dominate our conversation?
We didn't cultivate a negative mindset about someone?
We allowed encouragement to come out of our mouths?
We praised someone rather than cut them down?
These are just a few ways that we can learn to sow goodness into the life of someone else. Rather than just simply focusing on the negatives, we can actually see the opposite of them in the Spirit and call them out. For instance, if you know someone who is always critical we know that the Spirit of God wants to do the opposite. You can actually speak to that in a person's life and make a lasting impression. In light of this verse, if what we are sowing is seed, then we get to choose what seed is sown.
If we follow through the context of these verses, we will discover that Paul is actually talking about sowing in much broader terms. He talks about giving generously and then begins to discuss that same generosity as it relates to the people in our lives. When I realize that every morning I can choose to speak life into an individual or a circumstance, then eventually I will reap what that seed produces. The question is whether or not we will run out of patience in the process.
One of the members of PBC was actually talking about this in context of a relationship at work. There was a guy that he often saw in passing that just looked miserable. It didn't matter how many times he tried to be friendly to him, it wasn't making a difference. It became a major issue of prayer for him because he honestly felt like the guy needed some encouragement in his life. So he set out to make it a point to speak, be friendly, and trust God for the results. Over the course of a few weeks my friends patience was wearing thin. He had been greeting the guy in such a way that it couldn't be shrugged off but he just wouldn't do much more than grunt. It got to the point where he didn't even want to try anymore. This guy was apparently outside of the reach of God. Right? Well...one day my friend ran into the guy somewhere in the workplace. He had already decided he was done trying to reach out to him. However, the guy began speaking to him. It wasn't a monumental shift in the environment but he was able to see the hard exterior cracking. And to think that my friend had almost given up completely!
Never underestimate the power of goodness flowing from your life.
Don't underestimate the ability of God to demonstrate love through you.
Choose to impart life to someone today and wait for the harvest. It may not show up in the person that you are sharing with but you will reap a harvest if you do not faint.
Make this a part of your journey this week. Find someone to bless, love, and encourage. You will discover that every day can be an adventure and in the process you will be sowing life into them.
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