Sow righteousness for yourselves and reap faithful love; break up your unplowed ground.  It is time to seek the LORD until He comes and sends righteousness on you like the rain.  You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;  you have eaten the fruit of lies.  Because you have trusted in your own way and in your large number of soldiers,    Hosea 10:12-13 HCSB

Human beings oftentimes have ridiculous expectations.  If you expect to not have to wait in line at Wal-Mart at 5:30 in the evening, that is ridiculous. If you go to the most popular restaurant in town without reservations on Saturday night and expect to waltz right in and sit down, that is ridiculous. If you expect the cost of living to plummet and salaries to skyrocket, that’s probably not going to happen anytime soon either.

If you are taking courses online or in school and never study but expect a perfect grade, that might be an unreasonable expectation.  If you eat a big meal from McDonalds every meal and expect to lose weight, that might not work out for you either.  You get where I’m going,  right?

Our scripture passage from the Old Testament tells us the same as what we are told in Galatians 6:8, For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  No one plants a fig tree and anxiously awaits tomatoes, right?

But we seem to have some really ridiculous expectations when it comes to our eternal life.  I say we, because I lived many years with ridiculous expectations.  I lived my life the way I wanted to live it.  If I stayed up too late partying with friends on Saturday night and missed church, it was no big deal. I could go next Sunday.  If I didn’t spend time with God each day through bible reading and prayer, it was okay.  He knew I loved Him, right?  If I did what I wanted to do even though I knew it went against the instructions in God’s word, I could get a pass. God would understand. What was I thinking?  That’s crazy thinking right there. The Bible is very clear on what God expects from us and if we expect that He will just ignore that and say come on in, we are nuts. I know, I lived like a nut for a long time.

Now, I don’t know where you are in your relationship with your Lord and Savior or if you even have a relationship with your Lord and Savior, but the Bible is very clear on the fact that we must practice righteousness if we want to spend eternity in glory with our heavenly Father.  Matthew 7:22-23 tells us that on the day of judgement many will cry out “Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?  Then I will announce to them, “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!”

Our religion is not going to get us into heaven, it’s our relationship with Him that matters. Our close relationship with other Christians won’t get us into heaven, it’s our close relationship with Jesus that counts. There will be many that sit on a church pew every Sunday, but speak and do evil that will not make it into heaven.  Yes, churches have hypocrites, but as my former pastor used to say, “There’s always room for one more”.

Sowing and reaping are terms used that mean planting and harvesting.  In between the planting and the harvesting, there must be some tending.  Plants need to be watered and fertilized and weeded and cared for.  If you got saved and thought you were good to go with no effort, you are mistaken my friend.

Do we ever marry someone expecting to have no contact with them after the ceremony is over and maybe just hope to meet up with them years down the road?  That’s crazy, right?  But we expect that we can answer God’s call for salvation and then do our own thing after that.  The Bible does not mince words, it does not contradict itself.  The instructions are not confusing. They are very clear.

Now, one other thing that the Bible clearly states is that not one single person on this planet has any idea when their time on earth will be through.  This is no time for you to procrastinate.  Turn to God today.  Give it all over to Him and let Him manage it. Have an honest heart to heart talk with yourself today.  Are your expectations unrealistic?  If they are, wise up.  Take a good hard look and think about what you expect.  If you expect to spend eternity in glory with your heavenly Father, are you following his instructions here on earth? Think about that for a minute will you?

Have a great day!