Eternity And Doing Good

This morning I am reading from Paul's letter to the Galatians.

Galatians 6:7-10, 14-16 NIV

[7] "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. [8] Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. [9] Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. [10] Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

[14] May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. [15] Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. [16] Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule---to the Israel of God.

Two very different themes from the final chapter, the first set of verses having to do with the consequences of our actions. Sowing and reaping is the simplest way to explain how our actions result in consequences. The ultimate end to the two different paths, the flesh or the Spirit, are the opposite with one leading ultimately to destruction the other to eternal life.

In a very real way, those two results are easily discerned, for flesh is of this world, and will pass away with our death. Anything that is Spiritual will benefit us in eternity. This is the perspective that the early church lived under, and one we would be well served to cultivate in our own lives. This focus would help us prioritize our actions and what we were sowing into with our lives. Do we want to invest in things that will pass away, or things that benefit us eternally? Those of us in the western church have limited understanding or focus on things eternal, yet that is what should have the most importance in our lives. We have a hard time looking past the here and now, and so much of the culture all around us is hyper-focused on that as well. We need to cultivate a culture that puts value on eternal life, and those Spiritual things that benefit us in this eternal reality.

The second set of verses also address similar things, but from a slightly different angle - namely external versus internal conversion. Paul is once again talking about the new creation - this being the understanding that in Christ we are born again into a new creation. This is an internal work at present, which will have eternal expression, but which is for more important than any external change. Paul speaks of being crucified to the world through the Cross, and that is precisely the idea - when we unite ourselves to Christ, our old man is put to death with Him, and a new man is created. It is this new man that must be seen and embraced by us. This requires us to sow into this new life, feeding and nourishing ourselves with Spiritual food, which brings us back to the first verses. If we are sowing into the Spiritual, or in other words our new creation in Christ, we will reap eternal benefits.

Finally, we are encouraged to do good to those around us, especially those who are members of the Body of Christ. This also flies in the face of the prevalent culture which is focused on ourselves and what we get. Rather than worrying about ourselves, let us not grow weary in blessing, building up, encouraging, supporting, and helping all those around us. As Jesus said, we are to love one another, and by this over set ourselves apart (John 13:343-35). If we follow the logic of Paul's writing this "doing good" is exactly the type of sowing into the Spiritual which has eternal rewards. Let us learn to love and do good, and see our lives as much more than this temporary existence.

Amen, Lord. Help us to change the way we think, and see things from Your perspective. Help us to value the eternal, the Spiritual, and doing good.