We shall address the words of our text, as they were originally intended, to the body of Christ. Every born-again person is sowing either to the flesh or to the Spirit. And, as Paul emphasized to the saints, "He that soweth to the flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting" (Gal.6:8).

We, the saints of the "latter rain", are indeed being stirred by the events unfolding in our time, as the climactic hour of the end-of-the-age harvest season draws near. Now is no time for sloth. All true followers of Christ are pushing up their sleeves, as men of labor, and reaching out for the souls of men, desiring to present to the Master a good harvest of souls. They are not among those who have been lulled to sleep by cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches.

As I pen these lines to you, beloved children of God, I feel the Spirit of God within me crying to many of you in thundering tones, "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light." The wise man noted that "He that gathereth in summer is a wise son; but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame" (Prov.10:5). Oh, think of how many children of God are sleeping away these precious days, when the time of earth's harvest is so near, even at the door!

The preacher's advice from Ecclesiastes 11:6 is this, "In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thy hand, for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good." Thank God for the few who have learned and acted upon what the preacher meant in this scripture. Don't count on one sowing or planting. Go the extra mile and sow your seed in both the morning and the evening, because it is unlikely that both will fail. It may be that both will succeed.

The pressure of spirits opposing our labor may be great, but we may rest assured that the grace of God will always be sufficient to accomplish our tasks. "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him", wrote Isaiah. It doesn't matter that there are persecutions for righteousness, nor how hateful seem the blows of the enemy. What matters is that "greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world", and that there is a sure reward for our labor. "Let us not be weary in well doing," the saints are exhorted, "For in due season we shall reap, if we faint not" (Gal.6:9). When we remember how the Apostles and earliest congregation suffered for the sake of Christ, the words of the Psalmist come to mind, when he said, "They that sow in tears shall reap in joy" (Ps.126:5). No one has ever regretted being faithful in the service of Christ. But, oh, the remorse of the wayward, those who surrendered their faith in the heat of the battle! How about you, my reader? What kind of seed are you sowing? How important it is, that you consider this sowing and reaping of yours!

Because God is perfectly just, it is impossible to sow anything without reaping it. As Paul said, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Sadly, there are those in the body of Christ who are even yet "sowing to the flesh", and as we consider their paths, the words of Solomon come to mind, "He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity" (Prov.22:8). Again, in Job 4:8 we read, "They that plow iniquity, and sow wickedness, reap the same." Hosea (8:7) prophesied this truth in these words, "They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind [tornado-like storm]." Now, dear reader, in order to escape this dreadful "whirlwind" reaping, we must follow the instructions of Hosea, who said, "Sow to yourselves in mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you" (10:12).

At times it may seem unlikely that our sowing the good "word of God" (what God is saying to His people NOW) will avail anything. Iniquity is so rampant in this world, and even among God's own people, that it sometimes appears to be an unconquerable giant, holding captive the souls of men. But God has promised that His word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish that for which it was sent (Isa.55:10-11). We are simply to sow the seed and trust God for the results, as did this poor man:

God is seeking for truth sowers, who have such a victory in their souls that the forces of darkness are puzzled to know where to look for the next move. Yes, God wants brave warriors, with faith to subdue kingdoms and wax valiant in battles, stopping the mouths of lions and turning to flight the armies of Satan. These men are able to say, when they see the manifestation of the power of God and hear of the land of God's promises, "Let us go up at once, and possess it."

God still has His faithful few, the devoted, seed-sowing servants, who have died out to all personal interests and have launched out from self-aggrandizement, blind to everything except God's will and His plan for the reaching a lost and dying world - not winning them to a "religion" as others do, but seeing them filled with the holy Ghost, and walking in obedience to that Spirit. These saints have but one purpose in life, namely, to become so subjugated to Christ, and so subdued, controlled, and conquered of God that all else may be counted as refuse. The people of God need these seed-sowing saints. Their whole desire is to be an instrument in the hands of God and to know Christ in both the fellowship of his sufferings and the power of his resurrection. Yes, God still has His few who are willing to fill the hard places in the kingdom of God and to suffer for Jesus' name, counting it a privilege to do so, "esteeming the reproach of Christ to be greater riches than the treasures" of this world.

What would any army be, if all its soldiers sought the easy assignments? May everyone who reads this tract resolve to be like the men who formed that famous Scotch company of soldiers, of whom we have read. As they stood erect before their commanding officer, he gave them the facts of a very difficult and dangerous detail, and then called for volunteers. "I will turn my back," he said, "and any who desire to volunteer for this mission, step forward one pace while my face is turned." The officer turned away and then back toward his troops to see who had volunteered, and, to his amazement, the line was still unbroken. "What!" he shouted, "the Scotch Volunteers - and no volunteers!" Just then a soldier stepped forward, and, saluting the commanding officer, said, "Sir, the whole line stepped forward!" Saints of God, in the name, and for the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ, let us step forward and assume the privilege which is offered to us, the privilege of being a witness of Jesus, asking God to replace our fear with faith and our cruelty with love.

From the teachings of Jesus we learn that there is only one safe way. It is the "strait and narrow" way which leads to eternal life. Any who would attain to that life must do his part to sow the Word of God here among men. The family of God is in need of seed-sowing children. And those who will now sow enough of the right kind of seed will find themselves reaping a wonderful harvest when the time for the ingathering comes, and we hear the angel crying to him who sat on the cloud, "Thrust in thy sickle, and reap. For the time is come for thee to reap, for the harvest of the earth is ripe" (Rev.14:15).

"But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." - 2Cor. 9:6