Sowing in the Spirit: Living the Law of Christ

When the Apostle Paul closes his letter to the Galatians, he doesn’t go quietly. Instead, he offers a passionate appeal, drawing together the core of his message: life in the Spirit, community accountability, and the cross of Christ. Galatians 6:1–16 is more than a farewell — it is a commissioning. It reminds us what it means to walk together in Christian love and mutual responsibility.

Bearing One Another’s Burdens

Paul begins with a gentle directive: “If anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness” (Galatians 6:1, NRSV). Restoration, not condemnation, is the goal. This doesn’t mean ignoring sin, but approaching one another with the grace that Christ extends to us. John Wesley called this “watching over one another in love,” a vital part of Methodist community life.¹

Verse 2 tells us, “Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” This is the only place Paul uses the phrase "law of Christ." What is that law? Wesleyan scholars interpret it as the law of love — the command Jesus gave to love one another as He has loved us (John 13:34).² For us today, this is a reminder that church is not a solo act. It's a shared journey of mutual support, especially in times of grief, temptation, or hardship.

Sowing and Reaping: A Spiritual Harvest

Paul moves into an agricultural metaphor that speaks to the heart of rural communities like ours: sowing and reaping. “You reap whatever you sow,” Paul writes (v. 7). To sow to the Spirit is to invest in the things of God: prayer, service, generosity, compassion, and justice.

To sow to the flesh — our self-centered desires — is to invest in temporary satisfaction that withers away.

For farmers and ranchers in our community, this metaphor hits close to home. You can’t rush the harvest. You can’t sow wheat and expect corn. And if you neglect the field, you’ll face weeds or worse. Paul’s message is clear: faith isn’t about momentary emotion—it’s about daily faithfulness.

In the words of the New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, this passage is a “reminder that freedom in Christ is not a release from responsibility but a calling to live under the guidance of the Spirit in a community marked by love, service, and accountability.”³

Doing Good, Even When It’s Hard

Paul also urges persistence: “Let us not grow weary in doing what is right” (v. 9). We all know how exhausting ministry can be — whether it’s helping a neighbor, volunteering at the food pantry, or showing up on a Sunday after a tough week. But Paul offers encouragement: keep going. In due season, the harvest will come.

The United Methodist Church emphasizes this through our baptismal vows, which call us to “resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”⁴ Doing good is not always convenient, but it is always faithful.

A New Creation

Paul closes with a final contrast: those who boast in circumcision (outward religious symbols) versus those who boast in the cross. For Paul, and for us, the only thing worth boasting about is the transforming power of Jesus Christ. “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything!” (v. 15).

This “new creation” is the heart of justifying and sanctifying grace in Wesleyan theology. Justifying grace makes us right with God through Christ; sanctifying grace continues to mold us into Christlikeness.⁵ As we walk with Christ, we are daily being renewed. This is not just individual — it’s communal. The Church is the soil where the Spirit grows new life.

So What Does This Mean for Me?

How are you sowing in the Spirit this week? Who around you needs your help in bearing their burden? Where are you being called to do good, even if it’s tiring?

Whether it’s in the classroom, the grocery store, the field, or the home — God is working through you. And together, we are part of God’s “new creation” community.

Reflection Questions:

1. Who in your life might need a gentle word of restoration this week?

2. Where have you been sowing in the flesh — and what might it look like to sow in the Spirit instead?

3. How can you help your church community be a place of burden-sharing and spiritual growth?

Bibliography:

1. John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (London: Epworth Press, 1755).

2. Wesley One Volume Commentary, ed. Kenneth J. Collins and Robert W. Wall (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2020), 774–776.

3. Richard B. Hays, “Galatians,” in The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Vol. XI, ed. Leander E. Keck (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2000), 319–327.

4. The United Methodist Book of Worship (Nashville: UMPH, 1992), 83.

5. The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2016), ¶102.