by Debbie Stovall

Don’t you just love the juicy, buttery, salty, sweetness of biting in to a fresh ear of roasted corn? Me too! The crunchy freshness of corn from my garden or the farmer’s market just seems to proclaim “Summer is here.” As summer winds down and with Labor Day just past, here are some deep observations about corn plants:

1. Corn stalks always bear corn and not cucumbers or beans or watermelons!
2. One little kernel of corn stuck in the dirt doesn’t just give me one kernal back, or even just one ear of corn. It gives not only multiple kernals but multiple ears! Enough to eat some this year and save some to plant next year.
3. Planting a corn kernal is an investment that pays off over time.

Isn’t that amazing?! I know you think I’m an agricultural expert. (Not!) But what implications do these observations have for us non-farmers? For Christian women facing daily life struggles?

The Bible tells us in Galatians 6:7 that “a man [or woman] reaps what he sows.” These are Biblical principles referred to as “The Laws of the Harvest.” These principles are irrevocable and apply to everyone. No exceptions.

1. You reap what you sow.  In life, we will harvest the same kind of thing we plant. If you plant deception, lies, cheating, or trickery, you yourself will harvest the same thing. Conversely, if you sow the fruits of the spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control you will be able to gather in a harvest of the same good things.

2. You reap more than you sow and you reap in proportion to what you sow – multiples of what you sow. Just as one little kernal gives you several ears of rows and rows of more kernals, so it is with what we sow in life. Young moms know this by experience. If they speak sweetly and kindly the kids follow suit to some extent. But heaven forbid the Mom of 4 wakes up grouchy! One harsh word in the morning can reap a day full of harshness. Within 30 minutes her seeds of grouchy attitude and speech will have been caught by the whole household and the whole family reaps the nasty harvest. Worse than any viral contagion known to man are the negative character issues within a family.

3. You reap in a different season from when you sow. This is the one I wish I could convince high schoolers of. If I go out on Good Friday and plant my kernal of corn, it will take 60-100 days before it is ready to harvest. In 2017 Good Friday will be on April 14th. It will then be mid-June to the end of July before I get to munch on any of that yummy corn. Nine to fifteen weeks before Farmer Brown gets any return on his investment. As a high school teacher, how many students did I encounter that thought they had gotten away with something because they didn’t get caught or punished that day or that week. What they did not take into account was that the heavenly Father has laws of sowing and reaping that cannot be avoided. Months or even years later I have seen the harvest of something a person thought they got away with.

We would do well to keep these spiritual principles in mind. We can’t change them just because we don’t like them. They fall under the “it is what it is” category just like the laws of an agricultural harvest do. So let’s dwell on these words from scripture as we consider what investments we are currently making in life:

“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. 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. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” Galatians 6:7-10.