Fighting the Flesh #23: Don’t Grow Weary In Doing Good
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”—Galatians 6:9
As Christians, Christ has called us to do good works, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”—Ephesians 2:10. Why? So that Christ may be seen in and through our lives. Doing good works can be difficult at times, but no matter how hard it is, no matter how terrible people can be, we must not give up.
Paul uses a farming metaphor to communicate what our good works mean. He knew that farming can be difficult, but every farmer knows that they must continue to plant seed if they want to reap a harvest. It takes time and the waiting can be extremely hard. The seeds go in the ground and for weeks, nothing. There is no movement, no activity, no growth, or at least that is how it appears on the surface. But underneath the ground is an entirely different story. The seed breaks open and life begins, slowly, minutely, and imperceptibly. And finally, after several weeks, it breaks through the surface, and the little sprig can be seen. The growth, while small will grow into a giant stalk of corn producing many ears to harvest. The harvest will never be seen, however, unless there is planting, which is why Paul reminds us to continue to do good so that in time, we will see the fruit of our labor. We may not see people responding to our ministry, but there is something going on in individual’s souls that we can’t see. There are numerous stories of men and women having a gospel seed planted when they were children that didn’t come to fruition until many years later. We have no idea what God does with the seed we plant, but we do know that God will bring growth with the work that we do. As Paul wrote,
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor”—1 Corinthians 3:5-8.
Apollos and Paul were servants doing what God commanded them to do—planting and watering with the Gospel, but it was God who brought the growth. Like Paul and Apollos, we don’t know exactly what is accomplished through our work, but we do know that the result will be a rich harvest—because God will bring growth. And when we are able to see our seeds grow into a rich harvest we will have unspeakable and inexpressible joy, as the Psalmist wrote,
“Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him”
—Psalm 126:5-6
Don’t give in, don’t give up, continue on doing good works, because you will see a harvest if you persevere. God has promised it. Amen.
As Christians, Christ has called us to do good works, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them”—Ephesians 2:10. Why? So that Christ may be seen in and through our lives. Doing good works can be difficult at times, but no matter how hard it is, no matter how terrible people can be, we must not give up.
Paul uses a farming metaphor to communicate what our good works mean. He knew that farming can be difficult, but every farmer knows that they must continue to plant seed if they want to reap a harvest. It takes time and the waiting can be extremely hard. The seeds go in the ground and for weeks, nothing. There is no movement, no activity, no growth, or at least that is how it appears on the surface. But underneath the ground is an entirely different story. The seed breaks open and life begins, slowly, minutely, and imperceptibly. And finally, after several weeks, it breaks through the surface, and the little sprig can be seen. The growth, while small will grow into a giant stalk of corn producing many ears to harvest. The harvest will never be seen, however, unless there is planting, which is why Paul reminds us to continue to do good so that in time, we will see the fruit of our labor. We may not see people responding to our ministry, but there is something going on in individual’s souls that we can’t see. There are numerous stories of men and women having a gospel seed planted when they were children that didn’t come to fruition until many years later. We have no idea what God does with the seed we plant, but we do know that God will bring growth with the work that we do. As Paul wrote,
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor”—1 Corinthians 3:5-8.
Apollos and Paul were servants doing what God commanded them to do—planting and watering with the Gospel, but it was God who brought the growth. Like Paul and Apollos, we don’t know exactly what is accomplished through our work, but we do know that the result will be a rich harvest—because God will bring growth. And when we are able to see our seeds grow into a rich harvest we will have unspeakable and inexpressible joy, as the Psalmist wrote,
“Those who sow in tears
shall reap with shouts of joy!
He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him”
—Psalm 126:5-6
Don’t give in, don’t give up, continue on doing good works, because you will see a harvest if you persevere. God has promised it. Amen.
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