More Sowing Than Reaping

At the end of the letter to the Galatians, Paul writes, "God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow."  The rule of sowing and reaping is that whatever seeds are planted is what will grow, but Paul is saying more than "the acorn does not fall far from the tree."  The rule of sowing and reaping is not about what is inevitable, for these words call us to change.  Paul is saying that as we plant good seeds in our lives, our lives will shift in new directions.  The seeds of today become the changes of tomorrow.

We get frustrated because we know more about sowing than we do about reaping, but we are more interested in reaping than anything else. 

We know much more about sowing because we have the gifts of prayer and silence, scripture and study, church and community, service and generosity.  All of these gifts plant seeds in our lives.  We know a great deal about sowing, but we can become frustrated, as we compare our sowing to other people's reaping.  This is counterproductive, for we are called to focus on sowing, knowing that the time of harvest does not belong to us.  We must simply plant good seeds.

We know more about sowing than we do about reaping, but the world is more interested in reaping than anything else.  We must try and exaggerate what the world neglects through small acts of gentleness for the good of all, sowing grace.  Sowing is about the hard work of planting.

One way that we plant good seeds is by choosing patience instead of skepticism, even with those closest to us.  The seeds of patience leave room for others to answer our questions, instead of rushing to answer them ourselves.  Our questions are about the intentions, motivations, and decisions of others, as we try to read between the lines of what is said or done, but they are questions that we are not qualified to answer by ourselves.

Skepticism rushes to answer these questions about others by making presumptions.  The seeds of skepticism, based on guesswork, grow into weeds in family relationships and close friendships.  We do well to leave room for others to answer these questions for themselves.  Putting down our skepticism and our assumptions, while taking up patience prevents unfounded resentment and bitterness.

The good seeds of grace found in a gentle spirit towards others resist guesswork and embrace patience, accepting our loved ones for what they say and do without any commentary.  We do well to focus more on sowing than we do on reaping by not jumping to conclusions because we know more about sowing than we do about reaping.  Not only do we reap what we sow, we also sow before we reap.