"Longest Road"

The longest road from seeds we sowed,

And then the harvest came,

The reaping time the hardest climb,

Though now we’re not the same.

God’s grace forgave He came to save,

And thank Him for that gift,

But consequence though one repents,

Results He will not lift.

We must live through, it’s what we do,

Though these are lessons tough,

God helps connect what caused the wreck,

So temptations we rebuff.

To do the same we call insane,

To still expect some change,

Sow new seeds and learn what feeds,

A life of godly gains.

The narrow trail we then will hail,

With those who’ve gone before,

We will endure, our Leader’s sure,

From here to heaven’s shore.

“Don’t be misled- you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant.” (Galatians 6:7, NLT)

If we believe this is true, and we do, people then wonder about the grace of God and how it applies. Our choices are like seeds planted. These choices produce consequences, for better or for worse. When we make sinful choices they produce a bad harvest. When God forgives us, these sins are washed away and remembered by God no more. But the consequences remain. God does not reverse them, but gives us grace to learn what we need to know so that we will not repeat the same mistakes. Forgiveness cancels the debt, but only new choices will bring a righteous harvest.

Lord, help us to sow wisely, in Jesus’ name.

Art by Mark Maggiori, used by permission. Thanks, Mark, and God bless you.