Reap Goodness, Sow Goodness
7Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. 9Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. -Galatians 6:7-10
This reminds me of what we talked about in Bible Study last night- what kind of fruit we bear, what good we produce... do good was repeated, I don't know how many times, in the passage of Luke that we looked at. I really like the turn of phrase: Let us not become weary of doing good.... not become weary... that seems to be a grad students goal. The weeks where you have 50 research papers to grade and a poster to present and a presentation in a class... you're just praying that somehow you can make it through on little sleep without growing weary.
But, it's not just grad students. Moms- who have 2 sick kids and are feeling under the weather themselves, making treats for a church bake sale and taking kids to practices. Fathers who are working hard outside and inside the home to somehow balance their work and family time. Lord, let us not become weary of doing good... show us the opportunities you present to us in our business.
Reap Evil, Sow Evil
26 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 27 "I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? 28 Therefore, this is what the LORD says: I am about to hand this city over to the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. 29 The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people provoked me to anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods. Jeremiah 32:26-29
And the counterexample. Israel and Judah were not doing what was 'good and pleasing' in the Father's eyes... to use the Bible terminology. They were burning incense to Baal and offering things to other gods. And I often wonder if we aren't doing the same thing sometimes... holding our own work, our own ambitions, our own desires and wants and needs above God. Whenever we offer our time to these "idols," we are offering to false gods what belongs to our one true God. Lord, teach me to stay focused on You... offering You everything.
Reap Righteousness, Sow Righteousness
9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;
therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions
by anointing you with the oil of joy." Hebrews: 1:9
This verse is puzzling to me this morning. I really think it requires a bit more time, so I hope to look up some commentary on it. It reads as if this is speaking of Jesus... and the phrase "oil of joy" particularly stands out to me. I don't think I remember reading it before... not noticing it at least.
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