What are We Sowing? (Galatians 6:6-10)

Paul continues to give practical instruction to the Galatians. The fact that he did this should have been encouraging for them, given their spiritual lapse, because his words indicate that they could still make spiritual progress in their faith.

The directive

In verse 6, Paul mentions the principle that the church is responsible for the maintenance of pastors. Perhaps he had heard that the Galatians had not done this, or maybe he was concerned that they would stop doing so when they removed themselves from the false teachers (which is what Paul wanted them to do). Yet we can also deduce two positives from the presence of faithful instructors. One is that God still wanted to bless his people there, and the other is that the support of such was an example of how the Galatians could sow in a way that pleases God.

The danger

In verse 7, Paul mentions the danger that the Galatians faced because of the road they had travelled. They were walking on a route of deception, and the most dangerous aspect of the route was that they were not taking seriously certain judgement by God.

The Bible warns readers on numerous occasions about the possibility of being deceived spiritually. In this letter, Paul has told the Galatians that they had been bewitched, a description that points to deception brought about by the devil. The false teachers had been his agents, probably through being deceived themselves at some stage. 

We must remember that it is easy to be deceived, especially if the deceiver is quoting the Bible. In fact, that was how the devil attempted to deceive Jesus, who resisted him, and one reason that Jesus did so was that he understood what the Bible verses meant. The response to any teaching that claims to be based on the Bible is to imitate the Bereans, who searched the scriptures daily to see if Paul’s teachings agreed with the Bible.

It is important to observe that deception is not an excuse. Eve, in the Garden of Eden, admitted that she had been deceived by the devil. Yet that did not prevent her from being judged by God. He had made his will known in a very clear manner, so she had no acceptable excuse for disobeying what he had stated.

What does it mean to mock God? From the context, we can say that it means not to take him seriously. The way we do this is by not taking the gospel seriously and by not taking his instructions seriously. Perhaps the Galatians imagined that their behaviour did not matter very much. But it did. God will judge is the obvious implication of Paul’s warning.

The decision

The decision we have to make concerns what we sow in the field of life. There are two options – we either sow things that please our sinful nature or we sow things that please the Holy Spirit, the One who indwells his people. This decision is made by everyone. It is not a crisis decision that is made at one moment and never becomes an issue again. Rather, it is an ongoing choice that is made numerous times every day. From this we can see that our choices reveal who we are, and where we are spiritually.

What comes to mind with the word ‘sow’? Here are two suggestions: seeds are little things and numerous ones are used together. A farmer does not plant one seed in a field? What little things do we engage in daily and do so in a numerous manner? Our thoughts are such little seeds. Our words are such little seeds. So we can use our thoughts to strengthen our sinful tendencies or we can use our thoughts to please the Spirit. After all, the book of Proverbs tells us that ‘as a man thinks it his heart, so is he.’ I can tell my spiritual state by considering the thoughts that go through my mind. 

It is easy to find examples here. Imagine I think a jealous thought about someone else. That thought expresses my dislike of divine providence. Then I meet the person and speak nicely to him or her without confessing my sinful thoughts. Now I am also guilty of hypocrisy. Perhaps that person is on my prayer list, but since I am jealous, I don’t have the brotherly love necessary for meaningful prayer. We could go on analysing the effect of one thought on our spiritual state. Who knows what I am sowing? God does.

In contrast, we can ask the Lord to help us think about a good topic. So we read from the Bible and think about a couple of verses and discover that it feeds our soul. Then we meet another Christian and we share with him or her what we got from the Bible. They thank us for telling that truth to them because it helps them with a situation they are facing. Such thoughts and engagements please the Spirit. Who knows what we are sowing? God does.

The illustrations that we have used should not hide from us that Paul has actions in mind. We can see from the context that the required actions are all expressions of love. Earlier in the chapter, he had mentioned the necessity of helping the fallen, of sharing the burdens, of acting humbly towards one another. In the previous chapter, he had stated that the law was summed up in loving one’s neighbour. He also mentioned the importance of the fruit of the Spirit as the evidence that believers are being led by him.

Paul does not want us only to think about who knows what is going on. Obviously, God knows. But we are to ask ourselves, What are we sowing? Paul leaves us in no doubt. The millions of little seeds that we have sown produce their fruit, and the fruit is like the seed. Sinful seeds will produce destruction, says Paul, which is a reminder of the seriousness of little sinful thoughts, words and actions. Seeds that will please the Spirit bring about eternal life, says Paul, which is a reminder of the benefits of little righteous thoughts, words and actions.

The determination

The apostle is aware that the Christian life is not always straightforward, that barriers may come on the road. Hindrances on the journey may be traps set by the enemy of our souls because he has no intention of allowing God’s people to make progress. There are many things that may make us weary. Today, the ongoing opposition of the world to our Christian standards can make us spiritually weary. The failure of many professing Christians to engage in fellowship can make us spiritually weary. The lethargy we find in our own hearts concerning Christian duties can make us spiritually weary. When that happens, we will be tempted to stop doing what we should be doing. It is also possible to become weary when we don’t see results from our efforts. Prayers may seem to be unanswered, prospects we had anticipated did not work out, conversions can be slow in coming, illness may cause problems. 

Yet Paul’s words in verse 8 indicate that it is possible not to be spiritually weary in an environment in which spiritual weariness could be expected. There is something that can cause us to have spiritual enthusiasm for sowing seeds of righteousness. The basis of spiritual enthusiasm is the promises of God, especially his promises connected to what can be given to his people on the Day of Judgement. On that day, the harvest will be revealed and the followers of Jesus will be astonished at what has come out of their sowing of seed.

One of the best seeds to sow is prayer. Take the example that is mentioned here, of giving support to a pastor. He may be a pastor for fifty years. Imagine beginning to pray for his ministry on day one and keeping on praying for him day after day. It is likely that on most days in that long period not much was visibly seen. Yet God could be using his messages in response to the prayers made for his ministry, and working in the hearts of people. Fifty years covers three generations. It is not possible in this life for anyone to assess the full outcome of praying for such a period. But the harvest will be revealed on the great day. 

After the Second World War, there was a man in Australia who asked ten people every day a simple question: ‘if you were to die within the next twenty-four hours, where would you be?’ He did this for three decades at least. There was a church in England who had frequent testimony meetings and its pastor began to notice that several people mentioned how their interest in Jesus had been caused by a stranger in Australia asking them this question. The pastor decided on a visit to Australia to find the man, which he did. The man knew nothing about the effects of his question, and wept when he was told about the conversions. In the years after meeting the man, the British pastor heard of numerous other people who all traced their conversions to that man. Eventually a book was written about him after he died. Who can say how large the harvest will be that he will see on the great day?

The duty

Paul concludes by telling the Galatians to use every opportunity to do good to everyone, especially to believers. We can see that in this verse Paul explains what it means to love our neighbour. Peter, in Acts 10, describes Jesus as ‘going about doing good’, so we can deduce that Paul’s instruction here is a call to be Christlike. Perhaps we should not be surprised that Peter later says, in his first letter, ‘For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people’ (1 Pet. 2:15). 

Some lessons

The proof that we are going to heaven is seen in how we sow. The Spirit only leads those who sow good things. It is impossible to get to heaven without sanctification. This does not mean that believers will not fail at times, but it does mean that normally they will practice righteousness. This does not mean that we are saved by works, but it is also the case that faith without works is not a living faith.

Christian sowing involves doing something for non-Christians as well as for Christians. We cannot focus on one group at the expense of the other. Paul indicates that we should focus on doing evidences of brotherly love, but he also indicates that reaping includes what is done for those outside the faith. I cannot recall who first told me about Jesus, but he or she showed a seed for which they will get a reward. Some people may have prayed for us over an issue, and then forgot about it when the issue was resolved. But they will get a reward from the One who does not forget.

The harvest is at the end, not before. This means that we must have patience. Sometimes we sow prayers, but we may not see the fruit for a while. The ultimate result will be revealed when Jesus returns.

Who are we to do good to? The person who is with us at any given moment, and the good should be appropriate to them.

This set of verses is very solemn. We are assured that we are either sowing to the flesh or sowing to the Spirit, and we are assured that we will reap what we sow. One day, we will receive a harvest, but we should aim to ensure that it is a good harvest.