PARENTHOOD
a divine stewardship

The contrast between the Spirit and the flesh continues in chapter five with the contrast between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the Spirit (5:19-23). In 5:17 we are told, "The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh." The Spirit and the flesh can never work together or go along with each other.

TWO KINDS OF SOWING

Finally, in chapter six, we have the contrast between two different kinds of sowing: the sowing unto the flesh and the sowing unto the Spirit (6:7-8). On the one hand, we may sow unto the flesh to accomplish the purpose of the flesh. On the other hand, we may sow unto the Spirit with the Spirit as our goal. In chapter three, the Spirit is mainly for us to have the divine life. In chapter four, the Spirit is for us to be born of God. In chapter five, the Spirit is for us to live and walk. Here in chapter six, the Spirit is for our aim, our goal….

In 6:8 Paul says, "He who sows unto his own flesh, shall reap corruption of the flesh, but he who sows unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life." It is very important to understand what Paul means by sowing. Because of his human experience and what he had learned and because of the revelation he received from God, Paul had a thorough understanding of human life. His use of the word sow in 6:8 points to the true meaning of human life. According to Paul's view, human life is a process of sowing. Day by day, we are sowing. We sow by what we say and do and by what we are.

To sow is to put forth something that will grow and eventually be reaped. In our daily living we are constantly putting forth things that will grow and bring forth a harvest. Even a word uttered by us contains seeds that will land in a particular soil, grow, and produce a harvest which we shall reap. We should not think that our words and actions are without result or issue. On the contrary, all that we say and do involves the sowing of seeds.

Do you realize that you are sowing all day long? You sow when you are happy and when you are sad, when you are calm and when you are angry, when you are praising the Lord and when you are complaining. Whenever you gossip or criticize someone, you are sowing. When you sing you sow, and when you scold your children you also sow. The human life is a life of sowing, a life of putting forth things that grow and produce a harvest.

People sow whether they realize it or not and whether they intend to sow or not. You may have no intention for a certain negative thing to grow and produce a disastrous harvest. But as long as you sow, a harvest will result. Unsaved people do not realize that their life of sowing will eventually cause them to reap death and the lake of fire.

No matter what your intention may be, as long as you sow, you will reap, and you will reap what you sow. We should not be surprised that we reap a certain thing, for that kind of reaping comes from that particular kind of sowing. A person should not be surprised if he sows soybeans and then reaps soybeans instead of corn. As long as he sows soybeans, he should not expect to reap corn or any crop other than soybeans. We need to be impressed with the serious fact that what we sow will return to us.

I am quite concerned that many believers do not realize that their life is a life of sowing. Whatever we are, wherever we go, and whatever we say and do are all sowing. In particular, we sow by our talking. Eventually, we shall be the first to reap the negative things we have sown. Even in seeking to know the affairs of others, we may sow the seed of death. As a result of our sowing such a seed, death will come into our own lives and also into the church. First we shall be the victims of this death. Then the death will spread to others. It is much better not to know things about others. The more we know, the more seeds we shall have to sow. Although it is dangerous to gather information about others, some saints in the church could even be called an information center. They can supply information about many people and places. Possessing such information opens the way for sowing seeds of death….

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