REAPING MORE THAN YOU SOW

“Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. 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.

Have you ever heard someone say, “What goes around comes around?”  Perhaps it was the comment, “You get what you give.” Or maybe someone described how they released positivity into the world so that positive things would happen to them. Such sayings are common, each describing a link between how we behave and what life throws back at us. The culture word for that is karma. Karma teaches that if we engage in good behavior, good things will happen. Engaging in wicked behavior, on the other hand, brings negativity to us. The result of our behavior is unavoidable; we get what we deserve.

The concept of “sowing and reaping” is immensely better than “karma.” Reaping and sowing is all about blessings and consequences. This can work either positively or negatively in your life. If you’re planting seeds of kindness, people will be kind to you. If you forgive others, they will be forgiving of you. If you’re generous, people will show generosity to you.

We want to live in obedience by sowing good things and reaping other good things, but not necessarily in the same field. We can sow in one field and reap in another. Always remember that “…a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” ( 2 Corinthians 9:6). There is always some reward when you sow. Some rewards are instantaneous and easy to spot. Others take a little more introspection to see, but they are there all the same.

The law of reproduction says that you reap what you sow. But the principle of multiplication says that you also always reap more than you sow.  You don’t get one kernel of corn back when you put one kernel of corn in the ground. You get a cornstalk with multiple ears and hundreds of kernels on each of those ears.

The idea of multiplication works in every area of life. For example, finances.  Regarding our finances, Scripture indicates that the harvest is greater in magnitude and kind. Malachi 3:10 says, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!” When we sow our finances, it produces a harvest greater in kind. To put it differently, sowing to God’s purposes doesn’t just produce more. It produces better.

Discussion Questions:

1. How have you seen the principle of multiplication active in your life?
2. What do you expect from your investments? How are you sowing so that you can receive what you want to reap?