Sowing and Reaping

"Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow. If you sow to your own flesh, you will reap corruption from the flesh; but if you sow to the spirit, you will reap eternal life from the Spirit." (Galatians 6: 7-8)

Or this translation:

"Make no mistake about this: God is not to be fooled; everyone reaps whatever he sows. If he sows in the field of his unspiritual nature, he will reap from it a harvest of corruption; but if he sows in the field of the Spirit, he will reap from it the harvest of eternal life." (Galatians 6: 7-8)

It is impossible for men to break the established divine order in nature. There is a sowing time. There is a reaping time. The reaping will be exactly the same nature as the sowing. He who sows rice will reap rice and he who sows grass will reap grass. Nobody expects a harvest of rice after sowing grass.

Lent is coming. Lent provides us a window of opportunity to sow "in the field of the spirit." God himself describes lent as a favorable time for sowing. When we seize the opportunity provided by lent to sow good spiritual seeds for forty days, God rewards us by providing us abundant spiritual harvest that lasts all through life. Twenty years ago, I decided to fast from smoking on Ash Wednesday. After Ash Wednesday, I continued the fast from smoking. After lent, the desire to smoke dried up completely in me. Ten years ago, I decided to fast from television during lent. All through lent, my television gathered dust. After lent, I resolved to fast from television every Wednesday and Friday. Today, days could go by without my switching on the television. God blessed me with the desire to sow good seeds "in the field of the spirit" at a time of favor and rewarded me with rich spiritual harvest.