Galatians 6:9Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

But since he required much from them, he also places the reward at the door for them, pointing to a certain new and extraordinary harvest. “In agricultural labors, not only the one who sows, but also the one who reaps undergoes great fatigue, struggling with heat, dust, and the heavy burden of work. Then, however,” he says, “there will be nothing of the kind.” This is evident from what he says: “For in due season we shall reap, if we do not weaken.”

Christians, let us inscribe this apostolic word, “while we have time,” in our hearts. This time is our present life. Only now can we do good and give alms. In the age to come all this will end. Let us strive now to sow, and then we shall reap with joy. Let us labor now for the good, and then we shall rest.

Here let us scatter our possessions, and there we shall gather far more. Let us place our gold and silver in the hands of the poor, and then we shall receive it from Christ the Lord with increase.

Do not fear, Christian. “For He Who promised is faithful” (Heb 10:23). You give your silver into the hands of the poor, but Christ has promised to repay you for them, and He will repay with great profit.

Everything spent on whims and luxury will perish: on rich and beautiful houses, on rich tables, on rich garments, on rich carriages, horses, and the rest. All these expenditures are vain and will perish. You will know this on the day of your death, when you leave everything here.

But what is placed into the hands of the poor will not perish. It will bring forth a hundredfold fruit, as seed that falls on good ground does not perish, but brings fruit to the one who sowed. Let us entrust our possessions into the hands of the poor in Christ's name, and we shall receive a hundredfold from Christ.

Saint John Chrysostom says: “As with seeds, whoever sows peas cannot reap wheat, for the harvest is of one kind with the seed. The same occurs in deeds. Whoever fills his flesh with pleasures, drunkenness, and unrestrained desires will reap what usually grows from these things. For costly and luxurious tables end in corruption alone. The works of the spirit, however, are not such. See: you have sown almsgiving, and heavenly treasures and eternal glory await you. You have sown chastity, and honor and reward await you, greetings from the angels and crowns from the Giver of the contest. The Apostle opens the door of generosity to all, though he has greater care for his own. He commands giving to all, but in due order.”

Struck from within and from without, and no longer having support in the man, the passions soon yield. They begin to weaken and withdraw. The striking from within is more essential in the work of spiritual warfare. Yet it is more subtle, and easier for the attentive person. The striking from without, through doing good or performing deeds opposed to the passions, is harder. It requires the exertion of the powers of soul and body, and the overcoming of outward opposing circumstances.

Therefore, after speaking generally about sowing in the spirit, the holy Apostle dwells especially on that side of sowing which reaches the same end through doing good. He does this to inspire labor and to forestall self-indulgence and slackening. From every good deed a seed comes into the spirit, as from every piece of food a small atom enters the common mass of nourishing juice. The more good deeds there are, the more successful the sowing in the spirit. The sooner the good dispositions formed in the spirit mature, the more ready the field of the spirit is for harvest.

He speaks as though saying: As for doing good, see to it that you miss no occasion for it. When you do the good that lies before you, do it with zeal and joy. Do not be burdened, crushed, or murmuring. Nothing of what is done will perish. In its own time it will give its fruit, and you will certainly reap it.

Blessed Augustine sees this aim in the Apostle's words, namely encouragement toward the uninterrupted doing of good. "To sow what is good, that is, to do good, is easier than to remain in it unchangingly and constantly. Fruit that is visible and near at hand inspires labor. But our harvest is promised at the end. Therefore encouragement toward constancy and firmness is necessary. This is what the Apostle does when he says: While doing good, let us not grow weary. For only he who endures to the end will be saved (cf. Mt 10:22). The Prophet also teaches: Wait for the Lord; be of good courage, and let your heart be strengthened; and wait for the Lord (cf. Ps 26:14)."

The same thought is found in blessed Jerome. "Here the Apostle exhorts to constancy in zeal for doing good those who would still like to see the reward for good in this life. They do not know that, as in everyday life there is one time for sowing and another for harvest, so in the spiritual sense the whole present life is appointed for sowing good deeds. The future judgment will be the harvest. Then, according to the quantity and quality of the sowing, each one will have a fruitful harvest: some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold."

All our interpreters refer the words "not growing weak" to the harvest. They understand them to mean that this harvest will no longer require labor and exhaustion, but will come of itself. Thus Saint Chrysostom says: "What he writes about this in other Epistles he says here also. One must not only give alms, for example, but give willingly and continually. He indicates this with the words, to sow, and, not to grow weary. But after demanding much from them, he places the reward at the doors for them. He points to a certain new and extraordinary harvest. In agricultural labors, not only the sower but also the reaper endures great weariness, struggling with heat, dust, and the great difficulty and burden of the work. But then, he says, there will be nothing of this kind. This is clear from what he said: For in due time we shall reap, not growing weak. By these words he persuades and draws them toward doing good."

Thus blessed Theodoret says: "Let nothing grievous interrupt zeal for the good. For we shall reap what has been sown without labor. The Apostle expressed this by saying: not growing weak. With sensible seeds, both sowing and harvest are joined with labor. Often the heat of harvest time weakens the reapers. But this harvest is not such. It is free from labor and sweat."

The same is said by Saint Damascene, and by Oecumenius with Theophylact. Only the opinion of blessed Photius, cited by Oecumenius, is this: "Or, not growing weak, μη εκλυομενοι, means not becoming lazy and not falling away from doing good." That is, we shall reap in due time if we do not weaken and become lazy in doing good. Jerome also understands it thus.

Neither interpretation contradicts the flow of thought. But the first is closer and corresponds more fully to the Apostle's aim, which is to inspire constancy in good. The grammatical structure of the speech also inclines one toward it.