At Family Face Ministries, we want to share with you a little-known, rarely taught, spiritual secret. It’s one that has the power to heal a damaged home, or, make a strong marriage even stronger. When you get this secret and you master it, it will revolutionize your marriage… We can guarantee that. And we can say it with that much certainty because it works. But it only works 100% of the time. There is a catch though. You have to actually do it in order for it to work. But it will work every time. IF you apply these principles. In fact it is called a law. Not like a criminal law but like the law of gravity. In the context where a law is defined as a statement of fact, to the effect that a particular phenomenon ALWAYS occurs if certain conditions are present: It is the law of the harvest. What is the law of the harvest? Well, I’m glad you asked. Here it is. Right from the Bible.
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is the law of the harvest. Sowing and reaping. Sowing and reaping is an almost perfect analogy of life. And it has perfect application in our marriages. Just like a farmer gets a harvest from the seeds that he plants or sows, the things that we are experiencing right now in our marriages, are the harvest of thoughts, words and actions we have sown in the past. And today’s thoughts, words and actions are seeds being sown for a future harvest.
We almost can’t do any better than to view the state our marriage relationship as a result of the process of planting relationship seeds and reaping a relationship harvest. And since all of us are now reaping what we once sowed, and sowing what we will reap, don’t you think it is really good for us to understand the law of the harvest? Here are seven specifics about the law of the harvest.
The first is this: We reap what HAS BEEN sown.
In other words, sowing ALWAYS comes before reaping. Right?? A couple years ago, we went to Arkansas, as a family, for ministry in June. And for the previous month, we were so very focused on planning for the conference, we missed out on starting our seeds indoors to plant in our garden. So When September came, …we didn’t have ANY harvest because nothing HAD BEEN sown. You can only reap what HAS BEEN sown. Sowing ALWAYS precedes reaping.
Next: We reap more than we sow.
Next thing is this: We reap in proportion to what we sow.
Jesus said it this way. “Give, and it will be given to you:good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”
This one is similar to the one before it but there is a difference. This one says if I plant some seeds in my garden, I will get exactly what my little 3 foot by 30 foot garden can produce. No more. But, if I plant an acre, I can expect to get a harvest from what an acre can produce. In other words, plant a little, harvest a little. Plant a lot, harvest a lot. Make sense?
OK Next is this: We reap where we sow.
It’s not just what you sow, but also where you sow it. If you are sowing seeds at work, don’t expect a harvest at home.
How about this one: We reap in a different season than when we sow.
Corn is planted in April or in the beginning of May, but the new ears of corn are not harvested until September or October. Winter wheat is planted in September and October for a June Harvest. Lots of us forget this, and we need to keep reminding ourselves that just because we don’t see the results of our actions today doesn’t mean we won’t reap that harvest. Do youremember that science project back in elementary school? One of the projects I vividly remember from elementary school was planting seeds in styrofoam cups full of dirt. I remember the frustration I had when each day, I’d go to my cup and see nothing. I’d think that it didn’t work, that I must have gotten a bad seed. But eventually, that little green stem would rise up from the soil, and leaves would begin to form. Thats because we reap in a different season than when we sow.
OK Next one: We will reap when we persevere.
Galatians 6:9 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.
Perhaps you’ve been sowing good seed for a long time and it doesn’t seem to get you anywhere. Maybe you’re discouraged and thinking that it doesn’t do any good to try to do things right. Maybe you’ve given up on planting good things, because you didn’t see any results. That verse says do not be weary of doing right… don’t get tired of doing the right thing and doing the good thing because in due season we’ll reap.
Isn’t it ironic though? That’s almost always later than we want it to be! Thats one word we don’t like to hear. “Wait!” We don’t even like to hear “soon.” We like to hear “NOW!” Right? I mean all you have to do is look at society and as technology advances, one of the main ways it is applied is to avoid waiting. We’ve got instant this and instant that! And drive through and microwave everything. And some of that is OK. But the real thing is always better than the instant.
And finally: We reap the same kind that has been sown
We’ve all heard someone say it before, right? “You reap what you sow!” If you think about it, most times when you hear that, it’s said with a negative meaning. Right? People say, “Whatever you’ve sown, thats what you’re gonna reap!” And that is true… unfortunately, the negative things that we sow will produce a negative harvest, just as much as the good things that we sow will produce a positive harvest. And the truth is, we are all sowing something whether we realize it or not. So whether its good or bad, you reap what you sow.
God gave us this amazing principle. It’s the law of the harvest. Remember the guarantee. It will revolutionize your marriage. There is a catch though. You have to actually do it in order for it to work. But it will work 100% of the time. IF you apply these principles there can be healing a damaged home, or, it can make a strong marriage even stronger. God promises that if we don’t give up we’ll reap the harvest. And God doesn’t break promises. So you not only have our guarantee, but you have His.
