Sowing the right seeds

I have been meditating on what pastor preached about during service on Sunday. His message was titled "Living life according to the law of Sowing and Reaping." In summary, this is the message outline.

1. We reap WHAT we sow. Do not be deceived.
There is a Consequence to every action that we make. Galatians 5:7 tells us, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows." What you sow in your life you will definitely reap. If you sow banana seeds, you will get a banana tree. If you sow apple seeds do not expect to get a durian tree! Galatians 5 seems to imply a certain finality about this. It is God's law that cannot be changed!

We need Clarity to know the things in our lives that are not pleasing unto God. Hebrews 3:7-9 tells us not to harden our hearts when we hear the Lord's voice. Many times, we deceive ourselves by telling ourselves that we are ok when we are not.

2. We reap AFTER we sow. Do not be discouraged.
Galatians 6:9, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." It is altogether possible that we do the right thing, and yet not reap its harvest if we do not press on till the end! The process of sowing is not easy. It often involves patience, and a lot of hard work (Psalms 126:5-6). There is a also only a window of opportunity for the sowing. All the more, we need to press on for the season of sowing will not last forever. Harvest WILL come!

3. We reap MORE than we sow. Do not be calculative.
Out of one seed comes a whole tree of oranges with many more seeds. There is multiplication in the harvest! But this multiplication is condition on how much we are willing to sow, (2 Cor 9:6-8). All of us need to decide for ourselves how much we are willing to sow.

I was very moved by this message. It is a very powerful message that has many truths in it. Do you know what you are sowing in your life? If you don't, now is a good time to take stock and reflect. The truth is, there will probably be some things that are more obvious to you, and many others that you have sown subconsciously or unintentionally. It is these that are dangerous and which I urge you to be careful about. I realised that there are things in my life that I struggle with today, that are really the consequences of what I have been sowing in my life bit by bit unknowing of the "bad harvest" it would one day bring. Some of these have become huge tress with deep roots that require drastic measures to chop off.

One of the bad seeds that I have sown is that of procrastination and ill-discipline. I see now that it has grown to become a weed that acts like a parasite by first deceiving its host of its "benefits" and then slowly straggling its host so that the host is unable to produce anymore good seeds. The basis of procrastination is that it provides a momentary escape. A quick relief of not doing what needs to be done. It is all about self-gratification often disguising itself as some form of self-pity.

When full grown, procrastination produces fruits of ill-discipline. This fruit has the ability to suck all the will power and hope out of anyone who comes into contact with it. As Galatians 6 encourages us to NOT GIVE UP so that we will see the harvest, the fruit of ill-discipline discourages you and makes you ineffective and tired, even to the point that you fail to experience God's victory in many areas of your life.

Imagine how many of our youth today are sowing bad seeds without realising the consequence it will bring them in the future. Bear in mind that the principle of multiplication is not just limited to a good harvest. Sow the wrong seeds and you will produce a bumper crop of weeds and poisonous fruits! It is true that we are being deceived even as Paul warns in Galatians 6:7! Many of our youth today are too proud too take correction. They are deceived in thinking that they are sowing the right seeds when they are not. There is a need for us to pray and to speak wisely into their lives. It is time to be absolutely brutal in getting rid of the bad crops and planting new seeds that will glorify God. Thank God for His redemptive purpose in our lives so that it is never too late to start anew.

For myself, I am determined to uproot whatever procrastination and ill-discipline that is left in my life. Sometimes, it seems that the roots have grown so thick that their stranglehold is suffocating. But I will press on. I am clearing the land. I will burn it down if I have to. I have decided that I will only sow good seeds from now on. Seeds that will bring a mighty harvest that is worthy of a sacrifice unto God. Join me.