Harvesting What You Plant
Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 8 Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. 9 So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up. Galatians 6:7-9
Observation:
The sequence of events…
Jacob dupes Esau, deceives his father, and because his life is in danger he leaves home to find a wife among his mother’s people. On the way he has an encounter with God in a dream – which leads him to both worship and commit himself to God, following the encounter he finds his mother’s brother,Laban… falls in love with Laban’s younger daughter, Rachel … offers to work for Laban for seven years in order to marry her … works the seven years – but wakes up the morning after the wedding only to find out he had married her sister, Leah. Apparently, Laban had done to Jacob what Jacob had done to his brother and father. [Of course now we have an ‘elephant in the room’ – because the question begs to be asked, how in the world do you not know which sister you married until the morning after? While the answer isn’t given in Scripture the possibilities could be anything from “too much wine for Jacob, elaborate veils, cultural modesty, or Jacob’s wedding night nervousness caused him to miss this key fact, but we don’t really know1“.]
1quote from bibleref.com on Gen 29:25
The Result?
Just as Jacob’s deceitfulness had lasting consequences on his father, mother, and brother – as well as untold others – so it was with Laban’s trickery. The trick not only affected Jacob but Rachel and Leah and generations to come.
The Lesson
As we learn from Paul in Galatians 6:6-10, God’s grace does not negate the consequences of our choices and actions.
Application: How Then Should We Live?
According to the passage in Galatians, where Paul warns, “a person will reap what he sows”, and in light of Jacob’s experience, both as the one who deceived and the one who was deceived it is clear by God’s Word that we are to be careful with our choices – neither deceiving nor allowing ourselves to be deceived. This being true we must walk by the Spirit and not the flesh, and we would be wise to remember that while we may not aways see that what we do matters – it does. Therefore we must keep living in a way that agrees with our profession of faith. Or as Paul said to Timothy,
“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
1 Timothy 6:12 ESV
Prayer: Response to God’s Word
Father – discipline is never easy and Your discipline is even harder to bear – in part because of the consequences we face but also because it grieves my spirit to know I’ve disappointed You. Thank You for the reminder to make good choices, to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, and to consciously live in a way that reflects my profession of faith. – In His Name and Power – AMEN!
Your Turn:
- What’s your take away from today’s reading?
- Have you experienced times when God has clearly disciplined you?
- Do you view God’s discipline as a blessing?
Want More?
Read today’s LGG Blog Post
Me From the Inside Out 