The 4 Laws Of Sowing And Reaping, And How They Affect Your Marriage
The 4 Laws Of Sowing And Reaping, And How They Affect Your Marriage
By Bradley Bennett
Today is the father of tomorrow. And today’s challenges are the child of yesterday’s decisions.
The marriage you have today is the result of a series of decisions made and thoughts clung to in the past. This truth is the foundation of the spiritual principle of sowing and reaping.
Few things will change the way you operate in your marriage like fully understanding “Sowing and Reaping”. You’ll begin to see how every little decision and action affects your marriage both now and in the future. This understanding gives purpose to each decision you make.
We’re introduced to the principle of sowing and reaping in Galatians 7:7-8,
“7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 8 Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” ~Galatians 7:7-8
This language of “sowing” and “reaping” may be unfamiliar to anyone that isn’t a farmer, but it’s useful for explaining the God’s process. The term “sowing” refers to the act of planting a seed and “reaping” refers to harvesting the produce of that seed.
Understanding the dynamic relationship between sowing and reaping can help you build a better marriage. The principle of sowing and reaping can be broken into four distinct laws that affect your marriage in powerful ways.
Law #1: Every Marriage Is Affected By Sowing And Reaping
Every marriage, including yours, is affected by sowing and reaping. Galatians points this out when it says,
“7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.” ~Galatians 6:7
Whether you believe in God or not, the principle of sowing and reaping applies to all. This is a law of life. God has built this into the fabric of creation in order to deliver a response to our actions.
You see, all actions have consequences, whether positive or negative. Right now, everyone is planting seeds through actions or decisions that will one day grow into a harvest that they will reap.
How This Law Affects Your Marriage
In your marriage, you are constantly planting seeds whether you are aware of it or not. This means that you are also reaping the benefits or challenges of the seed you’ve planted in the past.
This first law paints the reason for why understanding the principle of sowing and reaping is so important. You will be dealing with it either way.
By understanding it, you can wield it correctly to bring amazing benefits to your marriage. Otherwise, you leave your marriage subject to a very powerful principle that you have no understanding of.
Law #2: We Reap What We Sow
We will always reap what we sow. This is a simple, yet profound law of the principle of sowing and reaping.
If a farmer plants a seed of corn, what should he expect to reap come harvest time? Corn, of course. He wouldn’t plant eggplant seeds and expect to reap squash. This law points to a direct correlation between what we sow and what we reap.
Now, what if the farmer mistakenly sows weeds into his field? No matter how much he didn’t want it, he would reap what he had sown. Weeds.
How This Law Affects Your Marriage
Your marriage is always going to be at the mercy of the seeds you are planting. The seeds you sow will eventually grow into the harvest you reap later. This is good news if you sow good things into our marriage. But it can be frightening if we are doing the opposite.
We can not sow seeds of anger or stress and expect to reap a marriage with peace.
Things like anger, impatience, and lies are weeds. When sown, all we can expect to reap from them is more weeds.
Understanding the 2nd law of sowing and reaping can bring great benefits to your marriage. It can help you understand the type of seed you need to be planting into your marriage.
In order to do this, you need to imagine the marriage that you want. List out all the qualities of that marriage whether it’s peace, love, passion, friendship, honesty, etc…
Once you have an idea of the marriage you want, just work backward. If you want to reap these things in your marriage, then what type of seed should you begin to sow?
Law #3: We Reap More Than We Sow
“The one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” ~Matthew 13:23
Not only will we reap what we sow, but we will reap more than what we sow. It’s exponential. A farmer plants a seed because he expects it to multiply in the harvest.
We will never reap less than we sow, but it will always be more. This principle works the same whether we sow positive or negative seed.
How This Law Affects Your Marriage
Truly understanding this law gives weight to the decisions you make in marriage. It turns the seemingly small things of marriage into important seeds that we sow.
Why make the sacrifice to communicate intimately with your spouse? Because it plants seeds that will return greater levels of intimacy.
This law displays the grace and generosity of God. The small positive seeds we plant today will return with abundance at harvest time. You must be aware that the opposite is true, too. Choosing to plant seeds of dishonor, anger, and impatience will return with a greater impact.
My hope is that this would not discourage you, but actually be encouraging. Becoming intentional about the seeds you are planting in your marriage can transform everything. God’s abundant grace rewards small acts of obedience to love your spouse with great returns of love.
Law #4: We Reap Later Than We Sow
A farmer would never plant a seed on Monday and then come back hoping to harvest the fruit on Tuesday. He understands that every seed takes a period of time to grow and eventually bloom. He plants and waits.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” ~Galatians 6:9
Unlike the seeds of the ground, planting a seed in your life has no exact timetable. Some seeds you may reap quickly and others may take years to come into bloom. As it says in Galatians, there is a proper time appointed for the harvest.
How This Law Affects Your Marriage
Implementing the principle of sowing and reaping in your marriage requires patience and sacrifice. Your marriage may not look exactly how you want, but that is the perfect time to begin sowing seeds. It will not be instantaneous, but those seeds will grow into a harvest that you will reap later.
Just don’t give up. God’s promises are true and His grace is good.
You can rest in the promise of the second and third laws. You will not only reap what you are sowing sacrificially right now, but you will reap it in abundance! This is a comforting and assuring promise to lean on as you plant seeds of love inside your marriage.
Trust in God’s process and have faith that the seeds you are planting today will come to bloom at the proper time.
Build A Better Marriage Through The Principle Of Sowing And Reaping
The principle of sowing and reaping is powerful. My prayer is that understanding this gives you hope. This principle displays God’s grace, generosity, and goodness. It has the potential, when used correctly, to bring exponential rewards and joy out of simple sacrifices.
Reaping a marriage that is beautiful begins with sowing seeds of love faithfully for a long time. It requires sacrifice, but as it’s promised in Galatians, at the proper time you will reap the rewards. It’s a proven law and process.
I encourage you to begin sowing seeds of love today. No matter the season, you are always able to control the seeds that you sow. Choose to plant ones that will, at their proper time, grow into a harvest that you will actually want to reap later on.