What We Sow, What We Grow: A Harvest of God's Goodness

Take a moment to picture a garden. Not a flawless display, but a real, working garden with rich, freshly turned soil, ready for planting. What comes next? You plant something. That seems obvious, doesn’t it? No one expects to walk into a field and find ripe tomatoes without first planting seeds. This is how nature works, and it’s also how our lives—and especially our spiritual lives—work. Paul’s words to the Galatians capture this truth perfectly: "You will always harvest what you plant."
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Galatians 6:7-10 lays out what I call the Unwavering Law of the Harvest.
"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." (7-8 NLT)

The law is simple: what we sow is what we grow. If we plant seeds of self-interest, impatience, or bitterness, which reflect our sinful nature, the result will be decay. Our inner life, and then our outer life, will become dry and fruitless. But there is good news. When we choose to plant seeds that please the Spirit—like grace, truth, love, and forgiveness—we receive everlasting life. This is not just about what happens after we die; it’s about living a vibrant, purposeful, and abundant life right now. Living in the Spirit means continually planting God’s goodness in the soil of our hearts.

Here’s an important question for each of us: What seeds are we letting God plant in us today? We can’t share goodness with the world if we haven’t first received it from the Source of all goodness. Our ability to do Kingdom work, to show the world what God’s reign looks like, starts with what we allow to grow within us.

When you spend time in prayer, you are sowing intimacy. When you reflect on scripture, you are sowing wisdom. Choosing forgiveness over resentment means you are sowing peace. These are not just passive activities; they are active, intentional choices to fill your soul with God’s life-giving presence. The challenge is that what grows in your heart becomes what you share with others. If you have received God’s grace, you can show patience and understanding to your coworker. If you have experienced God’s love, you can offer real, selfless compassion to a neighbor who is struggling. The goodness God gives you is not meant to be kept for yourself; it is meant to be shared.

Paul gives us the encouragement we all desperately need when the work gets hard:
"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." (vv. 9-10 NLT)

Let’s be honest: sowing good seeds is not always easy. It can be inconvenient and takes effort and patience, especially when we do not see results right away. We get tired and sometimes wonder if it is worth it. We might feel tempted to focus only on our own needs. But this is the heart of our faith: to be intentional about sowing for God’s Kingdom. Watch for the opportunities God gives you, like a moment to say a kind word, a chance to help someone, or a reminder to pray for a friend. Each of these is a chance to plant a seed of God’s goodness. This is more than just being nice; it is about taking part in the work of the Kingdom and using what God has grown in you to bless others.

The promise is clear: "At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up." Keep planting God’s goodness in your life and continue to share it with the world. Keep tending your garden. A wonderful harvest is on the way.