“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” (Galatians 6:7-8)
As a junior high disciplinarian I can honestly share with students that poor choices eventually lead to destructive consequences. I need to also share the positive aspect of sowing and reaping.
Throughout his letter to the Galatians, Paul teaches how to sow to please the Spirit:
- “The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”
- “Live by the Spirit.”
- “Let us keep in step with the Spirit.”
- “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”
- “Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.”
- “Carry each other’s burdens.”
- “What counts is a new creation.”
- “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Paul’s secret was to know that when Christ died on the cross, Paul died. “For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with…” (Romans 6:6) Now Christ lives in us!
On earth, Jesus was led by the Spirit. He listened to His Father and obeyed what His Father told Him to do. With all the fruit of the Spirit, Jesus found His joy in His Father’s will. “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work.” (John 4:34)
As children of God, we have been given the Holy Spirit. So let’s fearlessly follow the Master!
“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship, And by Him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:15-16