The law of sowing and reaping
May peace and grace be multiplied in your life from our Lord Jesus Christ! I believe that the word I am sharing with you here strengthens you and helps you to complete your journey into eternal life.
Yesterday we talked the fact that God created this world in such a way that it is governed by natural laws; when one breaks them it leads to negative consequences. We established that God only wants good, so He desires us to observe these laws when we make our decisions because they bring life and wholeness. We also talked about some of these laws in more detail, like the law of profitability, the law of right eating and the law of right thinking. And we saw that when we break these laws we can run into serious problems. When that happens we cannot blame God, but only themselves.
So, what about the law of sowing and reaping?
«Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows in his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life» (Galatians, 6:7-8).
«For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live»(Romans, 8: 13)
The Bible says that the one who sows into the flesh will reap corruption or death. Your every action is a seed. Every deed and every word is a seed.
So, sin is a transgression that gives birth to unnecessary suffering. Several times Jesus Himself linked some type of suffering to sin and the issue of personal choice. Let’s look at some examples in the Scripture that talk about it.
«Now a certain man was there who had an infirmity thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, „Do you want to be made well?” The sick man answered Him, „Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.” Jesus said to him, „Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. And that day was the Sabbath. (..) Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, „See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you» (John, 5: 5-9, 14).
We see a person who had been paralyzed for 38 years and had been healed when He met Jesus. It confirms that illnesses do not come from God; otherwise Jesus would have not fought them and would have not been healing people.
After the healing Jesus came to him with admonition not to sin any more. It tells us that this man had sinned before and possibly his illness had been caused by his sinful lifestyle.
Illness, pain and suffering – all this can be cause by sin. Jesus said to this man: «See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you». In other words, Jesus said that if he continued in sin after the healing, then worse things could happen to him. Sin has its effect on human health. Sinful lifestyle is one of the main causes of human suffering.
Now let’s look at one more example of how Jesus linked the condition of a paralyzed man to the sin in his life.
«Then they came to Him, bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near Him because of the crowd, they covered the roof where He was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, „Son, your sins are forgiven you”. And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, „Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, „Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”- He said to the paralytic, „I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.” Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, „We never saw anything like this!» (Mark, 2: 3-12).
Jesus says here that the result would be the same if He said to the paralytic: „Arise, take your bed, and walk!” or „Your sins are forgiven you!” So Jesus is teaching us that forgiveness of sins can also bring physical healing. I know some people that after repenting of their sins and accepting Jesus as their Lord have also received healing, even though they did not seek it. If illness and suffering are caused by a sin, then the only way to be delivered from them is to repent of one’s sins and receive God’s forgiveness.
We will continue about it tomorrow!
God bless you!
Pastor Rufus Ajiboye
