Dear God, I’m going to take a couple of passages out of context: Galatians 6:7-8 and Matthew 13:24-30. Well, not really. Maybe I’m actually going to focus on the context for the verses because I read something this morning that I didn’t necessarily agree with, and I want to see if I am wrong. Or at least consider if I’m wrong or right–I don’t know that I can come up with a definitive answer.
I was reading a book called Soul Care by Rob Reimer, and he used the Galatians 6 passage to talk about himself and how he had been reaping what he had sown with his wife. He said he was praying one day through issues he was having with his wife and, separately, someone at work, and you said to him, “The law of the harvest.” The he heard, “A person reaps what they sow. You can blame Jen [his wife] if you want. You can blame Me if you want to. But you are standing in a field of weeds because you have been sowing weed seeds. You have been sowing seeds of anger and selfishness. If you want to stand in a field of fruitfulness, you have to sow new seeds.”
Yeah, on the surface this sounds good, but there are simply times when people do not reap what they sow. Sometimes they are great, loving people who experience rejection and hate. Sometimes they are difficult people who find themselves surrounded by forgiving and gracious people. In the Bible, Job comes to mind (his friends and his wife giving him a hard time). Manoah and his wife and the way Samson turned out. So it made me to go Galatians 6 just now to see what the context is for the passage. Here is what Paul said to the Galatians in chapter six, verses seven through nine: “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. 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. Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.”
So what I’m seeing here is the overall field of my life and how it lines up with you, your peace, and eternity. So from Reimer’s perspective and what he’s saying for his particular set of situations, the whole reaping what you sow metaphor can be true, certainly. But I don’t think it has to be true. When it comes to human relationships, one needs to take responsibility for the hurts they’ve caused and not only apologize but also strive to make it better. But it also takes the other side to respond, and sometimes they aren’t prepared to or able to respond in kind.
In some cases, I think there are other factors that can drive the outcome of a relationship. That’s where the second passage comes in. If I think Reimer is taking Galatians 6 out of context, then perhaps I’m taking Matthew 13 out of context. First, the parable of the weeds in verses 24-30 is preceded by one of my favorite parables that I’ve been looking at lately, the parable of the Sower (the farmer scattering seeds that fall in four different types of soil). But verses 24-30 talks about the weeds that are planted when the farmer isn’t looking (with you being the farmer, Satan being the weed planter, and the evil people of the world being the weeds): Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away. When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew. The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you planted that good seed is full of weeds! Where did they come from?’ ‘An enemy has done this!’ the farmer exclaimed. ‘Should we pull out the weeds?’ they asked. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘you’ll uproot the wheat if you do. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will tell the harvesters to sort out the weeds, tie them into bundles, and burn them, and to put the wheat in the barn.’”
The truth is, sometimes weeds get planted that we had nothing to do with. And sometimes there’s nothing we can do about them except pray to you that somehow healing will come.
Father, you know the hurts I’ve experienced and the hurts that I’ve caused. If I’ve caused hurt, reveal it to me and give me a legitimate chance to repent and make it as right as I can. For the things over which I have not control, help me to know how to respond to that as well. Give me serenity to accept the things I cannot change. Give me courage to change the things I can. And give me great wisdom and serenity to know the difference.
I pray all of this through the grace and mercy you offer me through the life, death, and resurrection of your son Jesus,
Amen
Emails to God 