Sunday, December 22, 2013

December 22: God’s no fool


Do not be deceived. God will not be made a fool. For a person will reap what he sows, because the person who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:7-9 — New English Translation)

This is a universal rule without exception. We will reap what we sow—our attitudes and actions determine what our lives will be on earth and in eternity. We should not deceive ourselves by expecting anything else, and we should not think that we can fake God out and get something that we have not worked for.

There may be situations where this seems not to be working, but this is only temporary. An evil man may seem to prosper and enjoy life, and a good man may seem to suffer and live without God’s blessings, but this is not the permanent state of the two men. If we sow to please our flesh we will reap judgment and eternal destruction. But if we sow to please God above all else we will reap blessings and eternal life. Like a farmer knows this to be true about seeds and his fields, we can know this to be true about our life and God.

Corruption in this passage stands for crops in the field that are spoiled—too rotten to harvest. If we don’t believe in God, our life is a total waste—but even if we do believe in Him, unless we live in a way that is pleasing to Him, our life appears to God like fruit rotting in a field—good for nothing.

The last sentence of today’s passage is so important. If we give up, we can’t expect anything from God. One thing we have to make sure we do in life is to resist becoming weary and giving up. We have to hold on to God, keep our faith strong, and be determined that we’re going to reap a harvest. Discouragement is a favorite tool of the devil that he will use on all of us at various times in our lives, but we can’t be fooled by his lies and tricks. God sees what we are doing, nothing misses His notice, and He will be faithful to us.

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