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“Don’t be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.” Galatians 6:7-8 (ESV)

Reality – the quality of being real, actual or factual. Wow that settles a lot doesn’t it.  Our culture desperately longs for real, yet when we look around us the reality is most people have no idea where to find it.  Why?  Accepting the reality of our situations, our lives, our people is difficult. We’d much rather live under the pretense of what we want others to think than reveal the truth of who we are. And the longer we hide behind the mask or social media, the further we get from facing reality.

While escaping reality is appealing it is evasive.  Eventually, we must encounter what is staring at us in the mirror before the mirror tells all.  The longer we deny the truth, the more we convince ourselves of our perceived truth.  Not a good place to land.

One of those realities we tend to dismiss is consequences.  Getting away with anything never serves us well.  Oh don’t get me wrong, we all love the mercy of our God and He is indeed merciful. If we got what we really deserved, we’d all be in big trouble.  Yet mercy doesn’t alleviate consequences; God loves us too much to allow ease in our sin.

Reaping what we sow is the truest reality ever.  If we attempt to cover up our wrong actions, thoughts and words eventually reality will sting us.  And the sting is always worse, multiplies and more painful than we ever imagined.  The saddest part of this equation is when the ripple effect of our cover ups extends beyond us and touches others.  Keeping it real here, we don’t get to choose who is impacted, how they are impacted or the price we will pay for choosing to ignore sin in our lives.

Best solution – choose to seek God’s help. Yield to His Spirit who lives within us and empowers us to defeat temptations and resist the enemy’s schemes (James 4:7).  When we intentionally ask God to search our hearts (Psalm 139:23) daily, He will gently reveal to us any areas of disobedience in our lives. Sounds unpleasant doesn’t it – to endure a daily check – but the payoff is worth every minute.  When we resist the tendency to cover up, hide behind, ignore or dismiss our sin then we truly face the reality of what we have been sowing.  By specifically confessing and naming our sin, we open wide the door to God’s forgiveness.  The consequences are still there, but the ripple effects are minimized when we keep a short account of sin.

Sweet friends when we embrace reality, we will recognize our tendency to sin and prepare in advance for a way of escape.  We will submit our hearts to God’s leading and enjoy the blessings of sowing to the Spirit.

“Father, Your mercy and grace far surpasses what we deserve. You are the best revealer of our hearts and welcome our confession with open arms. May we daily submit to Your will and avoid the consequences of sowing seeds of sin in our lives.

For His Glory

Janet Martin
TRBC Women’s Life