My mother was a very good gardener. She grew some of the finest tomatoes and bib lettuce I’ve ever eaten.
One fact of her gardening that was completely consistent is that bib lettuce seeds did not produce tomato plants. Neither did the tomato plants produce lettuce.
We accept this truth of gardening but fail to recognize it in human life.
We suppose that we can eat the poison of resentment and unforgiveness and not be harmed.
We think we can live separate from a dependent relationship with God and have a meaningful life.
We don’t believe God can throw a good party, so we turn to the evil one for fun.
Paul says, “Not so!”
— Galatians 6.7-8 – Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow.
If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh, but if you sow to the Spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit.
Just as lettuce seeds produce lettuce leaves, the flesh (that is, living separately from God) will produce corruption.
Last week, I was purchasing some produce from HyVee near our home. I looked for the freshest apples, lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers.
It won’t surprise you that I skipped bruised apples and brown lettuce.
Why are humans so particular about food, but so careless about their spiritual lives?
Plant the Spirit
“Eternal” life is more than living a long time. It is a quality of life that is so good it can only be described as “eternal.”
The way to eternal life is to plant the seeds of the Holy Spirit in your being. How is that done?
I have recently been writing about Galatians 2.19-20. Here is a way that those verses can be used to plant the seeds of the Holy Spirit in your life.
(1) I have been crucified with Christ.
Pray this: Jesus, when you died on the cross, I died with you.
(2) And it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.
Pray this: I no longer live, but Jesus you live in me through the Holy Spirit. May your Spirit work through me in every way today.
(3) And the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Pray this: I trust that your Spirit will be working through my speech, attitudes, and actions today. I live by faith because I know you love me and gave yourself for me on the cross.
Begin your day with this prayer. Frequently return to the prayer and ask for the life of the Spirit to be lived through you.
It Takes Time.
If your life has been dominated by the flesh for years, this prayer may seem awkward and difficult.
Paul reminds us to not give up on this way of life, just because it is difficult.
— Galatians 6.9-10 – So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up.
So then, whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.
Stay with it. Get up and try again, when you fail. Keep planting the seeds of the Holy Spirit in your life and see what kind of “crop” he produces.
Sowing to the Spirit involves a surrender to the Spirit and good works for other people.
As we plant the Spirit in our lives, he will direct us to love, share, and care for other people.
People can frustrate us, just as we frustrate ourselves with failures. The Bible encourages us to not give up working with them. There will be a “harvest” if we continue and don’t give up.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I have produced a video on this passage. It can be seen on the Bob Spradling YouTube channel.
Please email your prayer request to bsprad49@gmail.com or private message me on Facebook. The Maywood prayer team will pray for you.
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