The Law of the Harvest: Sowing Seeds for Eternity

Children are capable of being true Christians by having spiritual experiences that are appropriate for their ageCOL 84.1. It is the responsibility of parents to provide every advantage for their children to be educated in spiritual matters so they may develop characters that resemble the character of ChristCOL 84.1.

The Law of the Harvest

• Cause and Effect: In the natural world, the laws of God ensure that effect follows cause with absolute certainty, and the same principle applies to spiritual lifeCOL 84.2.

• Evidence of Labor: A harvest serves as a witness to the type of work performed; a slothful worker is condemned by a poor harvest, while the faithfulness of a diligent worker is measured by successful resultsCOL 84.2.

• Eternal Destiny: The character of a person’s work—whether it is diligent or slothful—is revealed by the harvest they produce, and it is through this process that their destiny for eternity is decidedCOL 84.2.

Sowing and Reaping in Human Life

• Kind After Kind: Every seed sown in life produces a harvest of its own kind, meaning we will inevitably reap exactly what we sow Galatians 6:7COL 84.3.

• Positive Sowing: We are encouraged to sow seeds of compassion, sympathy, and love to reap a harvest of the same natureCOL 84.3.

• The Results of Selfishness: Every act of self-indulgence, self-love, and self-esteem will bring a corresponding harvest; those who live for self and sow to the flesh will reap corruptionCOL 84.3.

The Certainty of Self-Destruction

• Personal Responsibility: God does not destroy any man; instead, anyone who is destroyed will have brought that destruction upon himselfCOL 84.4.

• Stifling Conscience: Those who ignore the warnings of their conscience are sowing seeds of unbelief, which will eventually yield a sure and tragic harvestCOL 84.4.

• The Example of Pharaoh: By rejecting the very first warning from God, Pharaoh sowed seeds of obstinacy and consequently reaped a harvest of obstinacyCOL 84.4.

• The Progression of Resistance: God did not force Pharaoh to disbelieve, but the seeds of unbelief he chose to sow continued to grow until his land was devastated, his first-born died, and his army was lost in the seaCOL 84.4.

• A Fearful Illustration: The history of Pharaoh serves as a powerful warning that "whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" Galatians 6:7COL 84.4. If people truly realized the weight of this truth, they would be much more careful about the seeds they choose to sowCOL 84.4.