True to Form

The Rev. Joseph Winston

June 27, 2010

Grace and peace are gifts for you from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.1
It does not matter if you go down to the local hardware store and buy one tiny
bag of seed for your container garden or if you purchase enough seed to cover
hundreds of sections, you fully expect that at the end of the growing season you
have a crop that identically matches what you originally planted. This basic law
of plants breeding true to form is absolutely essential for successful farming.
Consider the alternative. You put something in the ground and what comes out
is completely different. In this alternate universe, a corn crop becomes during its
life some strange mixture of other plants like apples, watermelons, and carrots.
While this crazy world might be fun to imagine, there are practical problems that
range from a plant changing into something that cannot grow in the field in which
it was first planted to the difficultly of picking a menagerie of widely different
1
Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians
1:2, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Philemon 1:3.

1
fruits and vegetables.
Even restricting the outcome to the same crop you originally planted in the
ground but allowing huge variations within it is troubling. You do not know how
to take care of the plants because they each have their own needs. Large-scale
farming is now out of the question and you must dedicate an extraordinary amount
of time to every plant. In these fields of our imagination, the plants are no longer
identical. Some plants now ripen sooner than others would. Labor costs skyrocket
as harvesting no longer happens at the end of the season but occurs whenever
the fruit or vegetable is ready. You have tall plants, short plants, wide plants, and
skinny plants mixed together in the same area. Collecting whatever the plants
produce becomes much more difficult than before and it certainly drives up prices
for production.
Drive through the rich farmland and you soon will see how uniform the dif-
ferent plants really are. In one field, there are rows of corn. Just about as far as
the eye can see, they all look the same. In another place, there is cotton. They all
appear to be the same plant replicated all over the field. A third field is full of
sorghum. Except for a few heads peaking above all the others, there is an amazing
amount of sameness.
The well-known association between generations of plants serves creation
well. Insects, animals, and even humans benefit as a result. The bugs can find
plants that feed them and their countless children. Domesticated and wild animals
graze on grasses and consume fruit. Humans dine on the produce, build with tim-
ber, clothe themselves with fibers, and do a thousand more things made possible

2
by the plants that behave as expected.
Paul has a large problem with the church in Galatia. This much must be clear
before returning to the idea that plants act true to form. An individual or perhaps
a group of people has come into the church and made some significant changes.
No longer is faith in Jesus Christ enough to save you (Galatians 2:16). You must
do something else (Galatians 2:3-4, 2:11-14). This opens up a can of worms that
calls into question how much is really enough along with denying the ability of
God to rescue you.
Paul continues exposing the fatal flaws with this incorrect line of reasoning in
today’s lesson by drawing on the wisdom that comes from the understanding the
relationship between plants and what they produced. He begins his laundry list of
everything plainly wrong with humanity with this phrase, “Now the works of the
flesh are obvious (Galatians 5:19a).”
Paul can only make this remark because he has seen what people do. They
enter into all types of relationships that God does not sanction (fornication, li-
centiousness). Next, Paul points out that people of all sorts continue their attrac-
tion with things that hurt them (impurity). He continues and says that humans
never completely realize when life comes from (idolatry, sorcery). Paul rounds
out the charges by showing exactly how much we argue. He uses five words to
describe the way people fight over the smallest matters (enmities, quarrels, strife,
anger, disagreements). Paul also gives two examples on how individuals obsess
over what others have (envy, jealousy). He reminds us of our love for splitting up
into competing groups (factions). Paul then provides two ways in which we waste

3
time (drunkenness, carousing). As he tries to draw the charges to a close, Paul
realizes there really is not an end to this list.
The fourteen accusations that begin the unfinished list levied by Paul against
everyone stick to us for one reason only. We know exactly what people do. We
take advantage others. This is how we have acted for generations. We are just like
the plants in the field. You can tell how we behave because you know us.
It is not supposed to be this way. God’s plan for humanity is one of authentic
relationship between you and everyone else. The design God had in mind was
for you to walk with God during the cool of the day and to enjoy each other’s
company (Genesis 3:8). You never were to be intimidated of God nor ashamed
of your actions (Genesis 3:9-11). Then there are all your interactions with others.
God’s idea is that we all work together, taking care of one another (Genesis 1:26,
1:28). It might be difficult at times, but that is not frightening by itself. That last
connection God put in place is that of you to yourself. You should never find the
need to hide anything from yourself.
It did not turn out this way. What happens normally sounds something like
this. You wanted something just out of your reach (Genesis 3:5). You took it and
this broke off your relationship with God (Genesis 3:6). Others might want what
you have too, so you push all of them aside (Genesis 3:12a). To justify your self-
ish actions to yourself, you never let your true feelings show to anyone (Genesis
3:12b).
The damage that all of us (and this includes our parents and their parents also)
caused is so great that we no longer can support life. You sometimes see this in

4
a field when the farmer places the same plant in the ground season after season.
Soon, nothing will grow.
It would not take very long for our poor behavior to completely wipe out the
human race but God in His mercy granted us the Holy Spirit that comes and gives
us back what we destroyed. Paul takes up this very subject in the next verse when
he describes “the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22a).”
Paul begins with something many people believe is our second nature: love.
From what you have already seen, love is not a central characteristic of humans.
Paul reminds you that tenderness is really a fruit of the Spirit. So, your apprecia-
tion of nature or art is actually the Holy Spirit working in you. Your concern for
friends and family comes directly from the Spirit. Your care of those that hate you
is God’s action in your life. In fact, your love of God comes from the Holy Spirit.
The happiness (joy) you experience in life is God’s gift to you. It is the second
fruit of the Spirit and it is a sure sign that you have the Holy Spirit. Closely related
to the joy you find in life is peace. Certainly, peace is the absence of fighting but it
is more than that. Peace is the satisfaction you feel after a good meal. It is a calm
night of sleep. It is being content with the Lord’s blessings.
You see the gift of patience from the Holy Spirit when you wait on God. This
is the fourth fruit. Patience happens when you let God be in charge of the world.
Patience appears when you maintain your composure during a heated discussion.
Patience is being tolerant of others.
Kindness and generosity are two fruits of the Spirit that go hand in hand. A
kind person is caring, considerate, and understanding but they do not keep these

5
fruits of the Spirit to themselves. They give it away. That is how God’s economy
works. It is not limited like the ones we have created. You can find God’s Kingdom
in all the places where one person helps another.
Faithfulness, the seventh sign of the Holy Spirit, is simply staying with others
no matter what the cost. It definitely includes your trust in God. There is more to
this fruit of the Spirit. You experience it when you take care of family members
that are left out. It occurs when you help people in the community. It also happens
when you continue your relationship with your spouse.
A gentle person is always on their best behavior. They let you in line at check-
out, they open the door for you, and they listen to what you have to say. A kind
person has the Holy Spirit and is a blessing to everyone they meet.
Self-control, otherwise known as moderation, means remembering the needs
of others. It could be as simple as knowing when to say no.
When you experience any of these fruits of the Spirit, know that God is present.
God is keeping us alive, it is not our own doing.
It does not matter how much seed you buy. You know exactly what you are
purchasing and if you do not get your money’s worth, you will ask for a refund.
Because of Jesus, you do not get what you plant. God gives you something
else altogether. Rather than death, Jesus gives you life.
“The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and
minds through Christ Jesus.”2

2
Philippians 4:7.