Reaping What You Sow

The principle of reaping what you sow is one that applies to every aspect of our lives. Just as science tells us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction, even the intangible investments of time we make on a daily basis have very real and inevitable consequences. As Paul continued in verse 8 of this same passage, "he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life."

Extending this logic even further, nearly as important as what type of seed we sow is how we sow it. Consider the truth of Scripture in 2 Corinthians 9:6,

"...He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully."

This means that even those who are intentional about sowing only the good seed of Scripture into their hearts must still be careful to avoid the pitfall of complacency. And let's be honest, the fact that a commitment to Scripture memorization is encountered so rarely in today's world means that most people wouldn't notice if we slacked off in this discipline. But that doesn't give us an excuse to fall short of the Biblical charge to do all things "heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men" (Col. 3:23). After all, Noah was the only one building an ark in preparation for a global flood, but that didn't diminish from the absolute necessity of hard work and steadfast dedication to the task at hand.

As we memorize Scripture, we must bear in mind that a good harvest depends not only on good seed, but on diligent and systematic planting. Likewise, the very definition of a good harvest is that the desired crop is not collected "sparingly", but "bountifully." Every effort to memorize Scripture is indescribably worthwhile, but those who truly recognize what they stand to gain will be all the more eager "put their hand to the plow", trusting God to "give the increase" in the end (Luke 9:62; 1 Cor. 3:6).