I personally like the idea of reaping and sowing. That is, when it is working in my favor as opposed to working against me. My winter of laxed exercise and increased carb intake certainly proved this principle to be true in the negative. I like to dig in and work hard at a task or goal relying on the principle that I will reap what I have sown.
My theme verse for my ministry this year is Genesis 26:12a: “And Isaac sowed in the land and reaped in the same year a hundredfold.”
I count on this principle working in my favor, yet we are all aware of exceptions: That wicked person who prospers; That person who takes great care of their health, yet their life is wrecked battling disease; The wise person who hits hard times and financially loses it all.
The context of the above verse is very interesting. It immediately follows an incident where Isaac, out of fear for his life, lied that his wife was his sister (just like his father Abram had lied about Sarai).
When Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, catches Isaac and beautiful Rebekah in the act of marital intimacy, the pagan king reprimanded Isaac for his lie which would bring guilt upon them. The irony should not fail us.
The second interesting point concerning the context is that this was during a famine! Yet, God “blessed him, and the man became rich, and gained more and more until he became very wealthy.” Gen. 26:12b
God’s grace is an exception to the principle of reaping and sowing that brings me to my knees! God’s grace catches me in the act and extends what I cannot earn and what I do not deserve.
God’s grace ensures that we get absolutely what we don’t deserve!
Copyright©2018, Gloria Stucky
Photo by Cristian Newman on Unsplash