The Faith I Live By

The Sowing Time of Life, May 29

Consecration and Christian Experience

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. Galatians 6:7. FLB 155.1

In the laws of God in nature, effect follows cause with unerring certainty. The reaping will testify as to what the sowing has been.... FLB 155.2

Every seed sown produces a harvest of its kind. So it is in human life. We all need to sow the seeds of compassion, sympathy, and love; for we shall reap what we sow. Every characteristic of selfishness, self-love, self-esteem, every act of self-indulgence, will bring forth a like harvest. He who lives for self is sowing to the flesh, and of the flesh he will reap corruption. FLB 155.3

God destroys no man. Everyone who is destroyed will have destroyed himself. Everyone who stifles the admonitions of conscience is sowing the seeds of unbelief, and these will produce a sure harvest. By rejecting the first warning from God, Pharaoh of old sowed the seeds of obstinacy, and he reaped obstinacy.^{98Christ's Object Lessons, 84, 85.} FLB 155.4

Each actor in history stands in his lot and place; for God's great work after His own plan will be carried out by men who have prepared themselves to fill positions for good or evil. In opposition to righteousness, men become instruments of unrighteousness. But they are not forced to take this course of action. They need not become instruments of unrighteousness, any more than Cain needed to.^{99SDA Bible Commentary 5:1104.} FLB 155.5

Men act out their own free will, either in accordance with a character placed under the molding of God or a character placed under the harsh rule of Satan.^{100The Review and Herald, November 13, 1900.} FLB 155.6

Every act, every word, is a seed that will bear fruit. Every deed of thoughtful kindness, of obedience, or of self-denial, will reproduce itself in others, and through them in still others. So every act of envy, malice, or dissension is a seed that will spring up in a “root of bitterness” (Hebrews 12:15), whereby many shall be defiled.^{101Christ's Object Lessons, 85.} FLB 155.7

Dear young friends, that which you sow, you will also reap. Now is the sowing time for you. What will the harvest be? ^{102Testimonies for the Church 3:363.} FLB 155.8