Bible Study - Galatians 6

S — Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.
Galatians 6:7–8 ESV

O — (unchanged, verbatim)
A solemn warning is sounded that God cannot be mocked. No man can snub (myktērizetai, lit., "turn up the nose at") God whose rule, a man reaps what he sows, is immutable. Each sower decides what his harvest will be. If a person sows to please his sinful nature, that is, if he spends his money to indulge the flesh, he will reap a harvest that will fade into oblivion. On the other hand if he uses his funds to support the Lord's work, or sows to please the Spirit, and promotes his own spiritual growth, he will reap a harvest that will last forever

Donald K. Campbell, "Galatians," in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 610.

A — This is one of my favorite principles in all of Scripture. Why? Because it's universal. It doesn't care about your title, your tax bracket, or your track record. What you plant is what you're going to pull up. Every time.

Spend your life indulging the flesh, and don't be surprised when the harvest is empty. Pour your life into the Spirit, and don't be surprised when it lasts.

But here's where the gospel breaks the math. Sin's harvest is death — full stop, no exceptions. Except one. Jesus stepped into our field and reaped what we sowed. He took the harvest that had our name on it. That's not God ignoring the principle. That's God absorbing it Himself, so mercy could give you a different crop than the one you planted.

What are you sowing today?

R — Father, You are just — and You are merciful. Not one instead of the other. Both, fully, at once. We know the law of the harvest doesn't bend. But we also know You bent Yourself toward us in Christ, so the reaping would land on Him and not on us. Thank You. We don't take that lightly. We're grateful — eternally.