Back in 1994/95, one of Australia's most popular movies, Muriel's Wedding, emerged on Australian cinemas and went on to take Hollywood by storm. It aided the resurrection of the 70's band ABBA back into pop culture and it kick started the careers of actresses Rachel Griffiths and Toni Collette.
MW was both a comedy and a tragedy that portrayed the life of a young woman called Muriel Heslop, who lived in suburban Australia. Muriel was an insecure sad character who believed that she was a useless nothing. She firmly believed that by getting married to the man of her dreams that she would be loveable, acceptable, and pleasing to somebody. She was disgusted at herself and longed to be loved.
A large part of Muriel's insecurity was due to the fact that her father Bill (played by veteran actor Bill Hunter) was such a deplorable man. He consistently told his wife and kids that they were “a bunch of useless no hopers”, and at every point the Heslop family was crippled by self-loathing and doubt. Bill has an extra-marital affair, Muriel gets married and quickly divorces, and her mother kills herself by overdosing on sleeping tablets. By the end of the story Bill finds himself fighting out a legal battle, is unemployed, forced on the dole, and has to look after 3 of his 4 adult children.
In one of the last scenes of the movie, Muriel and her father encounter a moment of truth in their Porpoise Spit backyard as Bill comments to Muriel “You reap what you sow. I ought to know that, growing up on a farm. You reap what you sow”. Bill had realised that he had failed as a father and as a husband. With his wife gone and his kids more dependent on him than ever before, it dawned on him that his family problems were a creation of his own doing.
Galatians 6:8-9 provides a similar glance at what it means to reap and sow. In the passage Paul offers a direct contrast of two diametrically opposite kinds of reaping. On the one hand, there is the destructive reaping that springs from human sinfulness. About that, Paul says to his readers:
He who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption.
It's not hard to see that—in this life—there are those who sow evil and reap it at the same time. Those who slander and maliciously attack others will find themselves in positions where they themselves are undermined. Those who are stingy with their money towards others find that others are reluctant to be generous towards them. What goes around comes around.
Thankfully though, Paul didn't leave his audience ‘hung out to dry’ but gave them some helpful advice on how they could sow the seeds of righteousness. Although he was unhappy that they had questioned the message of grace, he offers them a refreshing reprieve:
But he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Often in the Christian walk it seems as though sin is overwhelming and unstoppable. The struggle against sin can sometimes feel so pointless, as we take one step forward and seemingly take three back. At times it's tempting to think that the Christian walk is pyrrhic, where the sinful nature takes precedence over the desire to love and serve God (Romans 7:15-19). For some Christians their attempts to grow in faith seem futile and useless, particularly when almost every attempt to walk according to God's way is met with detours and tangents back to way of the sinful life. Such steps back are often a fruit of the seeds that they had sewn in their previous way of living and—like an alcoholic attempting to ‘go clean’—the path of sanctification can be slow, demanding, frustrating, and even offputting.
Galatians 6:8-9 warns Christians to carefully be aware of sewing rotten seeds, but it offers a dynamic encouragement to plant the right seeds. Living a life worthy of the gospel in the here an now (in every situation, regardless of time and circumstance) will have endless benefits in the future. By avoiding the sin that entangles and hinders (such as swearing, lust, anger, greed, covetousness, envy, malice, and spite) and living our lives according to the Scriptures, the world will know that we are God’s disciples. Even better, we will enjoy the harvest ourselves.
However, the key to success of enjoying the fruits of righteousness is to persevere. We know that perseverance leads to character, hope, and endurance (Romans 5:3-5) but in Galatians 6:8-9 adds an extra dimension to the process—in persevering we will reap an everlasting harvest if we don't give up. The fight against sin in favour of righteousness will be worth it. It's hard, frustrating, and no doubt Satan is there trying to hinder us from moving forward, but God promises that it will be worth every drop of sweat. In due time on this earth, the blessedness of the righteous life will reveal itself and spur us on further to love and good deeds.
Comments
Right you are! I also see the sowing and reaping not just in our personal sanctification, but in our communal life together. Our families and our churches can dramatically be transformed if we take the time to tend to the “plants” God has placed in our garden—water, fertilizer, pruning will result in eventual, not instant growth.
Russell Smith on 05 May, 2004 2:19 AM