Reaping Eternal Life
Galatians 6:7-10 (NLT)
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.
Reflection
I’ve always been drawn to generous people. Whether it was my parents providing the financial backing to buy a building for our small local church or my uncle who left $50 bills hiding under the guest room knickknacks for his nieces to find every time he visited, from a young age I came to understand that a giving person was a loving person. I experienced firsthand from stingy people that their tight fists didn’t stop with their wallets but extended to an ungracious heart and a grasping and complaining spirit.
As I grew older and got married, I witnessed the unending generosity in my husband’s family that was deeply rooted in faith. It had no correlation with any amount they possessed but always with a strong love for others and for God. I have witnessed the hand of God provide so consistently over the years that I can with all confidence agree with the psalmist, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken” (Psalm 37:25 NIV).
There is a generosity and open-handed faith that arrests the attention of God Almighty. When you allow yourself to be an open conduit of money, energy, time, and blessing, His Spirit is able to flow freely in your life, knowing that you are a faithful steward of all He gifts you. When you “live to please the Spirit,” (verse 8) you will not only “harvest everlasting life” (verse 8), but you can experience abundant life in your own spirit here and now as you partake in the character of our generous Heavenly Father.
Action Steps
Prayer
Lord God, bless me indeed! Enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me so that I can extend more blessings, more money, more time, more resources, more creativity, and ultimately more love to Your precious ones all around me. Help me always be ready for every opportunity to give, and teach me how to give better, to give more, and to give more graciously for You have given me so much, Lord! Help me honor You in my giving, and so in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
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.
Reflection
I’ve always been drawn to generous people. Whether it was my parents providing the financial backing to buy a building for our small local church or my uncle who left $50 bills hiding under the guest room knickknacks for his nieces to find every time he visited, from a young age I came to understand that a giving person was a loving person. I experienced firsthand from stingy people that their tight fists didn’t stop with their wallets but extended to an ungracious heart and a grasping and complaining spirit.
As I grew older and got married, I witnessed the unending generosity in my husband’s family that was deeply rooted in faith. It had no correlation with any amount they possessed but always with a strong love for others and for God. I have witnessed the hand of God provide so consistently over the years that I can with all confidence agree with the psalmist, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken” (Psalm 37:25 NIV).
There is a generosity and open-handed faith that arrests the attention of God Almighty. When you allow yourself to be an open conduit of money, energy, time, and blessing, His Spirit is able to flow freely in your life, knowing that you are a faithful steward of all He gifts you. When you “live to please the Spirit,” (verse 8) you will not only “harvest everlasting life” (verse 8), but you can experience abundant life in your own spirit here and now as you partake in the character of our generous Heavenly Father.
Action Steps
- Think of some times in your life when you have experienced or witnessed generosity in others. What impact did it make, both in the giver and in the receiver?
- Verse 10 of today’s reading says, “Whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone—especially to those in the family of faith.” How can you better be on the lookout for opportunities to do good to those around you?
Prayer
Lord God, bless me indeed! Enlarge my territory! Let Your hand be with me so that I can extend more blessings, more money, more time, more resources, more creativity, and ultimately more love to Your precious ones all around me. Help me always be ready for every opportunity to give, and teach me how to give better, to give more, and to give more graciously for You have given me so much, Lord! Help me honor You in my giving, and so in my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen.
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