Probably because we live in such an increasingly ‘instant’ society, it’s easy to forget that just about everything we do has consequences.
The enthusiastic mathematician can describe how something called ‘chaos theory’ can work out (with lots of imagination!) – that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings over the river Amazon can eventually, as air current flows, lead to a hurricane over Europe!
The problem is we tend to assume that everything is that vague (and unlikely!) and park the idea of consequences in the corner of our thinking marked: “forget it!”.
Yet connections between what we do and what happens as a result are usually much more real. In fact the Bible tells us that the Lord has built such links into His creation. We looked closely at the idea last Sunday morning as we heard the apostle Paul warn the Galatian Christians:
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” (Gal 6:7)
He said it because we all have a tendency to ignore connections, pretend that God isn’t really interested and deceive ourselves!
The point is not to warn us of the accidental, though that certainly can be an issue. The point is to warn us that we have a responsibility to live our lives and put our attention and effort into that which pleases Him: In the previous chapter Paul had reminded them of the freedom Christians have as a result of the Lord Jesus’ death on a cross for them and resurrection from the dead. We can sinfully misuse that freedom for self-indulgence or thankfully use that freedom to love those around us for all of our eternal good and God’s eternal glory.
All of which begs the question: “What are we sowing with our lives?!”
Spencer Shaw