LAW OF HARVEST
Beginning in the Book of Genesis and all throughout scripture we read about the “law of the harvest”, a law that will endure as long as the earth remains. In Genesis 8:22 it says, “While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.” In other words, seedtime and harvest, or otherwise known as “sowing and reaping,” will be as predictable as the day and night.
Sowing and reaping is a law, a law that works the same for everyone, just like other laws of the universe such as the law of gravity. Sowing and reaping is a fixed principle that God built into His creation. The bible says in Galatians 6:7, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap”; which means that every action has a predictable consequence or reaction. If I sow corn, I’ll get corn, not potatoes. If I sow beans, I’ll get beans, not watermelons. If I raise cattle, I will reap cattle. This is the law of “like begets like.” Cattle do not beget chickens, nor does corn bring forth potatoes. Similarly, as in the physical realm of sowing, it is the same way in the spiritual realm. If I sow (give) life to others, I will reap life myself. If I sow provision for others, I will reap provision for myself. If I sow forgiveness toward others, I’ll reap forgiveness for myself.
In Luke 6:38, Jesus declared that the law of sowing and reaping always works, in our material giving.“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together and running over, shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
This statement is contrary to our human understanding and flies in the face of a common human fear, that that if I give something away, I won’t have anything left for myself. However Jesus says that the opposite is true. Give the very thing you need, and, you will get more. Not only will you have enough for yourself, but the more you give, the more you’ll be given. The bigger the sowing, the bigger the reaping!
Any farmer knows that, if you want a small harvest, you sow just a little seed. If you want a big harvest, you sow a lot of seed. The apostle Paul expands on this principle as well in 2 Corinthians 9:6, when he encouraged the Corinthians to give generously to the believers in Jerusalem who at that time, needed help as a result of famine,”Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.”
In Galatians 6:7, Paul says something very interesting about sowing and reaping; and begins by saying,”Do not be deceived.” The reason Paul says this is because so many people are deceived about sowing and reaping. He then assures us that we will reap whatever we sow. So how does one become deceived? Well, it has to do with a lapse in time between the sowing and the reaping. For example, some people sow the sinful deeds of death and then, because they don’t see the immediate consequences, they come to the conclusion that they got away with something. But sooner or later, the law of sowing and reaping will catch up with them . . . it always works the same way. Sowing the sinful deeds of death will eventually and inevitably bring a harvest of death and destruction. Violent people reap violence. Unfaithful people reap unfaithfulness. Bitter people reap bitterness. Selfish people reap selfishness. It’s a law, just like the law of gravity.
Deception can also work even when sowing good seed, righteous seed, the seed of generosity and good works. Sometimes we can be deceived into thinking that, just because we don’t see immediate results, the law of sowing and reaping doesn’t work. God promises that if we give, it will be given unto me, however there may be a significant lapse of time between the sowing and the reaping. But just like the law of gravity, the law of sowing and reaping is constant; we will always reap and we will reap exactly what we sow! Paul offers these encouraging words to those who spend their lives sowing love, kindness, and generous provision, when we look at 2 Corinthians 9 verse 9 it says, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
God invites us to invest heavily in the things of the Kingdom, and expects for us to reap an abundant harvest of righteousness. Some of it will come back to us very quickly and some will come back more slowly, but it will always come at the time we most need it.
This month of July is our month of Divine Harvest; may the Lord of the Harvest visit us as abundantly as we obey Him in every area of our lives. Amen.
Pastor Tope Dosumu