Our part in sanctification

I'm reading through John Stott's Baptism and Fullness. I wanted to share some of his insights from his chapter on the fruit of the spirit.

"If I were a farmer wanting to harvest a crop of oats, I would have to sow oats. It would be ludicrous to sow barley or wheat instead. The same principle applies to human behavior. If the Holy Spirit is to produce good fruit in our lives, then we have to sow good seed.

The old proverb puts it well:

Sow a thought, and you reap an act;
Sow an act and you reap a habit;
Sow a habit and you reap a character;
Sow a character and you reap a destiny.

We cannot alter this. As Paul puts it, "God is not mocked." Yet, some Christians are surprised that they are not reaping the fruit of the spirit when they spend a great deal of their time sowing to their flesh. Do they suppose they can cheat or fool God, and bend his laws to their conscience?

The "sowing" the apostle Paul appears to be referring to is the whole pattern of our thoughts and habits, our lifestyle, life direction and life discipline. It includes the company we keep, the friendships we cultivate, the literature we read, the films we watch....everything that engrosses our interests, absorbs our energy, and dominates our mind.

For by these things we are sowing, sowing, sowing, all the time, and according to what and where we sow, thus shall we reap."


Oh how true this is! How much I pray for growth, yet mock God by rebelling against his system of growth. I find myself so impatient to grow, yet subconsciously unwilling or too lazy to do anything about it. I need to discipline myself to ensure that the conditions for growth by the holy spirit are right.

Thus, my function in sanctification is to eat, to exercise, and to breath spiritual things. While remembering that the energy and will to do it, the air I breath, the food I eat, are given to me by total grace. Sadly I often fail to appropriate these gifts and yet am unsatisfied by my growth. Who am I to try to bend God's ways to mine.