Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who 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.
(Galatians 6:7-9, NIV)
Hanging on is all in what we do. Although our feelings work against us, letting go or holding on still primarily involve our actions - whether we choose to conform our actions to our faith or whether we choose to turn from our confession and allow our actions to follow suit.
Paul uses farming as a metaphor for endurance. Whether we hold fast to the way of Christ or let go and turn away, we are always planting something. At the harvest, we will have the crops that we have worked for. If we put in the sweat and blood and toil in the field, then, we will someday reap the fruit of that painful labor. Paul urges us to keep our chins up and keep on doing good, because we will reach the harvest if we keep working and don't give up.
Here are the words of the song "Something Heavenly" by Sanctus Real. They really express the glory of the goal toward which we are striving.
It's time for healing time to move on
It's time to fix what's been broken too long
Time to make right what has been wrong
It's time to find my way to where I belong
There's a wave that's crashing over me
And all I can do is surrender
(Chorus)
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but somehow there's peace
It's hard to surrender to what I can't see
but I'm giving in to something Heavenly
Time for a milestone
Time to begin again
Reevaluate who I really am
Am I doing everything to follow Your will
Or just climbing aimlessly over these hills
So show me what it is You want from me
I give everything I surrender...
To...
(Chorus)
Time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
That I've wanted to say for so many years
Time to release all my held back tears
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but I believe
You're up to something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Whatever You're doing inside of me
It feels like chaos but now I can see
This is something bigger than me
Larger than life something Heavenly
Something Heavenly
It's time to face up
Clean this old house
Time to breathe in and let everything out
Blessings on all of you
Greg and Tiffany
