A couple of months ago I was driving across the bootheel in Southeastern Missouri. It was late October and the farmers had their combines out in the fields, bringing in their harvest of cotton. It was a bit odd, yet very cool, to see bales of cotton instead of hay! The fields that were yet to be reaped were bathed in a sea of white, almost causing it to look like snow! It reminded me of an article I recently read that talked about some of the actions we reap in life.

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

We have all sown things we would rather not reap in the harvest! Big or small, we’ve all made mistakes, wrong choices and so on. Praise the Lord that He forgives us of our sin, and through His grace, wipes our slate clean. We may see the results/consequences of our actions in the future, but that doesn’t change God’s forgiveness. So here is the question: What is the difference between grace (God’s forgiveness of sin) and government (consequences we reap because of sin)? Below, is a little portion of an article that the cotton fields reminded me of. It answers our question and illustrates Galatians 6:7, coupled with God’s amazing grace – perfectly!

This article, held a very simple, yet profound way to look at the situation: “A man may be sent by his master to sow a field with wheat, and through ignorance, dullness, or gross inattention, he sows some noxious weed. His master hears of the mistake, and, in the exercise of his grace, he pardons it – pardons it freely and fully. What then? Will the gracious pardon change the nature of the crop? Assuredly not; and hence, in due time, when golden ears should cover the field, the servant sees it covered with noxious weeds. Does the sight of the weeds make him doubt his master’s grace? By no means. As the master’s grace did not alter the nature of the crop, neither does the nature of the crop alter the master’s grace and pardon flowing there from…Grace pardons; nay, more, it may make you higher and happier than ever; but if you sow weeds in the spring, you will not reap wheat in the harvest.”*There we have it! To me, the most important part of this quote, is where is says, Will the gracious pardon change the nature of the crop? And – Does the sight of the weeds make him doubt his master’s grace?

Grace doesn’t change the weed into wheat, however, the sight of the weed shouldn’t cause doubt of the Master’s grace. Write this statement down as a reminder of the truth we hold: If you sin – know that you can receive the Father’s forgiveness, and don’t doubt His grace if you have to do some reaping – whether in this life or before the throne!

Let the thoughts of these words penned by Jon Garrett and Sue Smith bless you:

* C. H. Mackintosh, Miscellaneous Writings Volume Five (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1951), 207

Grace says you cannot surprise me, no matter what you do
And when you least deserve me, Grace says I’ll be here for you!

* C. H. Mackintosh, Miscellaneous Writings Volume Five (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1951), 207 * C. H. Mackintosh, Miscellaneous Writings Volume Five (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1951), 207

* C. H. Mackintosh, Miscellaneous Writings Volume Five (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1951), 207