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by Katie Erickson

Unless you’ve had experience working directly on a farm, the terms sowing and reaping probably don’t mean a whole lot to you. As a city girl through and through, farming is definitely not in my world. But to many of those whom Jesus was speaking to while He walked the earth, farming was a way of life.

Jesus tells the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:1-9, and I would encourage you to go read it now. You should also read Jesus’ explanation of this parable in Matthew 13:18-23. Essentially, the gist of it is that a farmer sows seeds on different types of ground, and he reaps a harvest based on the ground. Good ground yields a good harvest; bad ground yields a bad harvest.

So what does this have to do with anything for us today? Well this concept of sowing and reaping is a very necessary thing, even in non-agricultural lives like many of us lead. The big idea is that you will reap what you sow, and that doesn’t just mean seeds and plants.

Let’s say I “sow” negativity into those around me by being generally mean and derogatory. What will I “reap” from that? I will get negativity back from those around me, damage relationships, and lose friends. Let’s say I “sow” driving too fast on the highway. I will likely “reap” a speeding ticket, or a traffic accident, or even just guilt from knowing I broke the law.

All of our actions have consequences. We wrote about this a few months ago when discussing the concept natural law. Good actions that agree with God’s natural law will have good consequences, and bad actions that disagree with God’s natural law will have bad consequences. That’s the way God set up this world to function.

One of my high school religion class teachers (I went to a private school) taught us something that sticks with me to this day: “O=B and D=C.” That’s not some mysterious equation, but rather it’s a simple shorthand for sowing and reaping: Obey = Blessed and Disobey = Cursed. This is based on Deuteronomy 28. Verse 1 says, “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth.” After this, God lists all of the blessings they will receive if they obey Him. On the other hand, verse 15 says, “However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you.” After this, God gives a very long list of curses they will receive if they disobey Him.

The book of Deuteronomy was originally written to the people of Israel thousands of years ago, but the principle contained in this text applies to us today as well. If we obey God’s laws, we will be blessed. If we disobey God’s laws, we will be cursed. It’s really as straightforward as that. You will reap what you sow, whether good or bad.

What are you sowing in your life? Are you sowing good seed on good soil, so you’ll reap a good harvest? Or are you sowing bad seed on bad soil, so you’ll reap a bad harvest? Whatever you do will have consequences, whether good or bad. I encourage you today to examine your life and consider this carefully when making your everyday choices, so that you may choose wisely and reap God’s bountiful blessings in your life.