In 1974, the year I graduated from High School, Harry Chapin released a record album with the song entitled, “Cats In The Cradle". The lyrics of this song introduce the second Law of Harvest, "We Reap the Same In Kind as We Sow".
Cats In The Cradle
A child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away, and he was Talkin’
’fore I knew it, and as he grew, he would say
I’m gonna be like you, dad, You know I’m gonna be like you
And the cat’s in the cradle, and the silver spoon;
Little boy blue and the man on the moon ;
When you comin’ home, dad, I don’t know when; But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then
My son turned ten just the other day, he said
Thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw, I said not today
I got a lot to do, he said that’s okay
And he, he walked away but his smile never dimmed,
it said I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him
And the cat’s in the cradle….
Well he came from college just the other day
So much like a man I just had to say
Son I’m proud of you, can you sit for a while
He shook his head, and said, with a smile
What I’d really like, dad, is to borrow the car keys
See ya later, can I have them please
And the cat’s in the cradle….
I’ve long since retired, my son’s moved away ; I called him up just the other day
I said, I’d like to see you, if you don’t mind, he said
I’d love to, dad, if I could find the time
You see my new job’s a hassle and the kids with the flu
But it’s been sure nice talkin’ to you, dad; It’s been sure nice talkin’ to you
And as I hung up the phone it occurred to me; He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me
And the cat’s in the cradle… That’s a good Intro to our study this morning: In this second law we see four things I’d like to discuss this morning:
A. Beginning with the Beginning
This second law is a simple as planting seeds in the garden and as complex as raising children. It has its beginning in the days of creation to which God declared that everything was to produce after "its kind." READ Genesis 1:11-25
Grass, Seed Plants & Trees … vs.11-12; Sea Creatures … vs. 21a; Birds … vs. 21b; Land Creatures … vs.24-25
1. Simplicity of the Law
The simplicity of this law can be illustrated in two packs of seeds. I have a pack of yellow squash seeds and a pack of yellow sweet corn. Now according to God’s enactment of this second law, what do you suppose I will reap if I plant the corn? No doubt corn? And if I plant the squash will I harvest squash? Of course!
It doesn’t matter if I switch the seeds, to make myself think I am planting corn when I am planting squash. It is still squash! I can deny it and call it squash on the cob. But it is still squash! Why? "Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." (Gal 6:7b)
2. Complexity of the Law
The complexity of the law is also found here. In Galatians 6:7 the phrases, "For whatever" makes this law all inclusive. It applies to everyone and everything we sow. Corn, squash, anger, attitudes, goodness, kindness and so forth. Everyone sows and everyone reaps! The phrase "also reap" makes the connection in kind to what we have sown.
Sow a thought, reap an act; Sow an act, reap a habit;
Sow a habit, reap a character; Sow a character, reap a destiny.
3. Examples of the Law
a. Psalm 1:1-6: The person who shuns the counsel and company of the world and sows the Word of God into his life will reap a blessed and fruitful life. The person who sows ungodliness will reap an unstable life and the condemnation of God.
b. Psalm 5:10-11: Those who reject God’s counsel will be destroyed by their folly; those who persist in sin will reap the fruit of their activities. The person who sows an attitude of faith (marked by obedience and trust) will reap a season of rejoicing.
c. Psalm 7:15-16: Those who sow deception and prey off the lives of others will eventually be caught by their own devices.
d. Proverbs 11:18: Those who sow wickedness employ themselves in a deceitful work – it promises one thing, but delivers something else. Those who sow righteousness reap a sure reward – they will not be disappointed with the fruit of their labor.
e. Proverbs 22:8a: Another verse that declares that sin does not deliver the satisfaction it advertises.
f. Proverbs 26:27:
g. Matthew 5:7-8: The one that sows mercy will reap mercy. The one who sows purity will reap fellowship with God.
h. Luke 6:37-38: If we sow judgment, we will reap criticism. If we sow condemnation, we will reap rejection. If we sow forgiveness, we will reap forgiveness. Verse 38 declares that whatever we give, IT shall be returned to us.
i. Mark 8:35: The Christian who lives for selfish purposes (whether for wealth, influence, comfort, or success) will reap a wasted life. Thinking he "saved" his life for his own use, he will actually "lose" the value of it for all eternity. The Christian who lives for the sake of Christ and the Gospel, though he may forfeit certain things right now that men value, he will actually preserve the value of his life for all eternity.
B. Beginning Again & Again
God set the law in motion and man tested it by sinning. When Adam ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil he reaped the results of spiritual and physical death. Along with a host of other complications. Because of Adam’s sin in the beginning, the beginning comes again and again to each of us. Why? His sin nature is sown and reaped into all of us, from generation to generation.
a. Psalm 51:5. When the psalmist states that he was conceived in sin, he was acknowledging that he was born a sinner with a predisposition towards sin.
b. Job 15:14-16. Job understood that man is born a sinner and has a "thirst" for sin.
c. Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned;”
One of the family traits passed down from the beginning is man’s desire to live "independently" of God. Man wants to believe that he can sow corn and get squash! Man wants to believe he can sow sin and reap good!
"Many people spend the first six days of the week sowing wild oats, then they go to church on Sunday and pray for a crop failure." -- Fred Allen
We reap the same in kind as we sow. Through Adam the beginning comes again and again.
C. Beginning with a New Beginning
In Adam we may not have the best beginning but praise be to God He offers us a new beginning. In this new beginning we can sow good and reap good.
Genesis 3:15 “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel."
Adam messed it up and God began to straighten it up. Through God a greater Seed, Jesus Christ, would be sown for all mankind so that man would not have to reap for eternity separation and sinfulness. READ Romans 5:15-20
Through God’s grace and the gift of salvation, (regeneration) man gains the capacity to sow good and reap the blessings of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”
D. Beginning with End in Mind
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life.”
I would suggest that we begin with the end in mind. What does that mean? No one plants a garden without first knowing what they want to harvest. As we sow corn seeds we begin to think about the end results, hot buttered corn on the cob!
Ecclesiastes 7:8 “The end of a thing is better than its beginning, and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.”
We must begin to see the end of our sowing and consider if it is worth planting. This applies to the physical, emotional and spiritual realms of life. Each of us by our thoughts, attitudes, and actions is constantly planting for a future reaping. Time may pass before the crop ripens, but the harvest never fails. The true nature of the seed we have scattered will surely be revealed.
But man has uncanny ability to think, "This doesn’t apply to me." Have we forgotten the law of the harvest ? "Do not be deceived . . ." To be deceived means to be lead astray or away from the truth God is striving to impart into our lives. It is expressed in the continuous present tense that says each of us are constantly in danger of the enemy leading us astray. Satan loves to whisper in our ears, "This doesn’t apply to you … you will not die!"
Remember what the word says … "God is not mocked." Mocked means to turn up the nose at, to treat with contempt, to ridicule. We can ignore and stick our nose up in the air to God’s truth and laws … but we will reap what we sow.
If we sow to the flesh we will reap the forces of corruption.
We cannot sow lies and produce truth.
We cannot sow sin and produce holiness.
We cannot sow discord and produce unity.
Notice what Paul says in Romans 5:3-5: “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Through Christ we now have the ability to sow what is right and therefore to reap a great harvest in all areas of life. We must begin with the end in mind.
(From a series by Bob Aubuchon modified for my audience)
