“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of faith.…”

Galatians 6:9-10

We often think about “doing good” as a big moment – in a situation where evil might win, we make the heroic decision to choose good works. Superman or Captain America do good; they are heroes who do big heroic acts. And in the church we may be tempted to think that we must be some sort of hero of faith to do these good works that we are called to do.

These good works are the types of things we may do on occasion; help a person in great need, donate a large sum of money to a charity; go on a work and witness trip to an impoverished area; provide support to relief efforts for those affected by hurricanes or earthquakes, or other similar efforts.

But the author of the Galatians scripture text above isn’t talking about huge, life-changing moments of doing good works. Rather he is referring to a way of engaging the world around us.

Galatians Chapter 6 begins with a command to care about one another, to bear each others burdens, to correct gently, and to do all these things from a motivation of love. And so its these small everyday interactions and encounters that Galatians has in mind when it says not to grow weary in doing good.

In a season of frustration, conflict, and deliberate antagonism, Galatians reminds us to not let our circumstances wear us down to the point where we abandon the Christ-like way we are called to live. After all, there is a reason why we are told that patience, or longsuffering, is a fruit of the Spirit; people shaped by God’s Spirit don’t give up on the way of Jesus, even when it appears that doing good isn’t bearing the results we had hoped for.

At the proper time, in a time to come, the good works we do with the grace we give to others, the patience we exercise, the love that we share, will bear fruit. These seeds we plant will mature to harvest.

And while we are to do good to all, as opportunities arise, God very much wants us to do good to each other as a community of faith, as the family of God and as people whose shared identity is in Christ our King. Churches sometimes can get the reputation of being a place of great conflict and unresolved personality clashes. But the church that God wants is a church that represents Jesus in our attitudes and actions towards one another.

So let us not grow weary. Let our patience and grace for others draw from a deep well. For we not only need to be Christlike in our attitudes and behaviors for our own sake, but we are called to be Christlike for the sake of those around us.

A church can only share Jesus to the extent in which that church is willing to embody Jesus. The world will only know the Jesus that we share with them. Not only in the words that we use, but in the way that we live and love. And if we grow tired of following the ways of Jesus and if we think the world offers a better, easier, or more effective way to live, than our lives are no longer pointing others to Jesus.

While we may stumble and fall in our efforts to be like King Jesus, may we continue to strive to become more like Jesus in our attitude and actions. May we never abandon the way he has taught us and called us to live.

And may we trust fully that, as we are determined to live like Jesus, a great harvest will come!

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