When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness and the result is eternal life. (NIV)

As I read this verse the first few times, I was thinking of examples of lives steeped in the worst sins I could think of, like shooting at people in rival gangs, selling illegal drugs to people who are deep in addictions, or trafficking humans. How radical to go from life under those masters of greed, violence, addiction, and evil to submitting your life to God! If someone were involved in one of those things, it would be obvious you were not under “the control of righteousness” but headed toward “death.” But the longer I sat with this verse, the more I thought about how it applied to me and my life. When I yell at my child because I am stressed out and shame him for something small he did, I too am running toward death, killing his spirit and severing our relationship with my harsh words and unloving response. My selfishness and lack of self-control reap no benefit for anyone.

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According to the dictionary, the word reap means to cut or gather, usually related to a crop or harvest. It can also mean to receive something, especially something beneficial, as a consequence of one’s own or another’s actions. The Bible often uses the metaphor of sowing and reaping, where sowing is a person’s actions and reaping is the results of those actions. I think most people know the phrase “you reap what you sow,” but do we always make the connection between our actions and the consequences? Do we see that things that feel good in the moment have lasting effects on ourselves and others? What initially feels like freedom, like drinking too much, lying to save face, yelling when I get angry, is really slavery to our flesh, to the enemy, and to sin.  

We will not completely be set free of sin on this side of Heaven, but sin no longer has the final say as it once did before we accepted the righteousness of Christ. Sin is no longer the master; God is. Our passage today from Romans talks about sanctification, or the process of being freed from sin or purified – emphasis on the word process. The things we are sowing in our lives now as believers should be leading us toward reaping holiness, with the final reward at the end of our days being eternal life.  

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I don’t have to live under shame because I sin against my children, but my submission to God’s authority in my life compels me to love more like Christ. What are you currently sowing in your life in your daily interactions with others? What’s a small step you can take this week to move toward holiness in what you say and do?

Holy and awesome God, we praise you that, under your Lordship, there is abundant life for us. So often we lose our way and think living for ourselves is best, and then we reap a pitiful and sometimes miserable harvest. Help us not to live under shame but in the freedom of Christ, because as believers we are covered by his righteousness. Day by day may we take steps toward holiness, yielding to the process of sanctification. May we sow love and kindness, grace and peace as we seek to emulate your Son. It is in his mighty name we pray, Amen.