“[The flesh is that] lower nature that is in each of us and remains in us even  after conversion and baptism. It is one of the fields of our human estate in which we may sow. To ‘sow to the flesh’ is to pander to it, to cosset, cuddle and stroke it, instead of crucifying it. The seeds we sow are largely thoughts and deeds. Every time we allow our minds to harbour a grudge, nurse a grievance, entertain an impure fantasy, or wallow in self-pity, we are sowing to the flesh. Every time we linger in bad company whose insidious influence we know we cannot resist, every time we lie in bed when we ought to be up and praying, every time we read pornographic literature, every time we take a risk which strains our self-control, we are sowing, sowing, sowing to the flesh. Some Christians sow to the flesh every day and wonder why they do not reap holiness. Holiness is a harvest; whether we reap it or not depends almost entirely on what and where we sow.” John Stott, The Message of Galatians

This commentary has inspired me to learn more about our two natures as Christians, the old ‘carnal man,’ and the ‘new creation in Christ,’ and the importance of where I am sowing. Each day we sow to one nature or the other, and our lives will grow to reflect this as a harvest , and this harvest is guaranteed either way. I love the idea that the yield of our lives can really show evidence of God, and of holiness, and of the kind of life that can only be found in Jesus.

I feel convicted about this. I have often felt frustration with my own relationship with God, where I can love Him so much and yet so often fail to do the hard yards of sowing to my new nature in Christ. It is obviously the reason that we as Christians can remain so impotent in our walks. I also think about the confusion it must sometimes create. If I profess Jesus with my mouth, and then habitually “sow to the flesh,” then my attitudes and actions and words will show little evidence of the reality of God, and His power.

But how amazing that holiness that can be a harvest in our lives too! Imagine sowing to the Spirit with such commitment and fervour, that the presence of God upon our lives is actually tangible and affects others in a profound way for Christ. It reminds me of this story I read about the great revivalist from last century, Smith Wigglesworth, travelling on a train to Cardiff in South Wales:

“… I had been much in prayer on the journey. The carriage was full of people whom I knew to be unsaved, but as there was so much talking and joking I could not get in a word for my Master. As the train was nearing the station, I thought I would wash my hands … as I returned to the carriage, a man jumped up and said, ‘Sir, you convince me of sin,’ and fell on his knees there and then. Soon the whole carriage of people were crying out the same way. They said, ‘Who are you? What are you? You convince us all of sin’” Stanley Frodsham; Smith Wigglesworth, Apostle of Faith; p 80

Imagine that? That the God’s own presence was so powerful upon Wigglesworth’s life that as he walks through a train carriage, the whole coach of people fall to their knees and cry out about being convicted of their sin. Without a single word. That we can cultivate such a presence of God with us is such an inspiration to me to do the work of sowing to the Spirit.