One Sows and Another Reaps

Psalm 105:1-22 • Psalm 105: 23-45
Judges 14:1-19 • Acts 6:15-7:16 • John 4:27-42

In today’s reading from John, the disciples return to Jesus and begin urging him to eat. Jesus declines, saying, “I have food to eat that you know nothing about.” He then introduces an analogy involving sowers and reapers, saying that both put in work to enjoy the benefits of the harvest. Jesus tells the disciples that they have been reaping a harvest which they have not worked for, accusing them of reaping the benefits of others’ labor.

Everyone in their lives will be sowers at some points and reapers at others. Sometimes we sow seeds for someone else to reap the benefits, and sometimes we reap the benefits of another’s sowing. Sometimes we do both the sowing and the reaping all on our own. But the importance in my opinion is balance, and I think that balance is what Jesus was referring to when speaking to the disciples. We should make sure that we are not becoming exclusively reapers.

When trying to think of an example, I considered relationships with other people. It is easy to reap the benefits of a friendship: love, support, companionship—it is much harder to sow the seeds for one. I must also remember to provide love, support, and companionship even when it inconveniences me or is difficult. This analogy can be applied to many other aspects of life.

I encourage everyone to periodically check in on themselves and “weigh out” your levels of sowing and reaping, whether it be your job, your friendships, your privilege in society, etc. You cannot reap any benefits if someone has not sowed. Sowing is useless if no one reaps the benefits.

Written by Tel Johnson

Tel is a recent graduate of Hendrix College. She grew up attending St. Paul’s, and currently lives in Little Rock and works at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.