Letter to the Congregations: 15th March 2025

Our Dear Brethren,

“Is that all you’ve got God?!” The young man yelled, looking upward and shaking his fist in the air. Not a second later a bolt of lightning struck the ground nearby. I don’t know if that young man learned his lesson that day, but I do know that many of his friends who were with him will probably always remember that moment.

Sometimes God makes His power known in the moment. Other times He lets us make our mistakes and even misuse His name or misrepresent Him. The lessons come later. But we should always remember that God is not powerless even if He doesn’t act quickly in anger.

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7). This verse and the surrounding passage make for a good reminder of the fact that the evidence of the work that we do and the words that we use are eventually evident. God may not strike us down in the moment, but He will let us reap our own consequences in life. “For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” (verse 8).

The apostle Paul, in this letter to the congregation in Galatia, related this concept to our self-examination of our own work, and also to our willingness to continue serving the needs of others without giving up. We need to hear both reminders. We need to remember that we must be checking ourselves to see where our motivation really comes from, and we also need the reminder that God will reward us for doing His will even if we don’t see the full reward right away. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (verse 9).

Of course the principle of reaping what we sow does also apply to those outside of the faith. The people of this world who do not know God, who might try and curse Him with their words and actions, will one day have their eyes opened to the truth of this principle. It can be very frustrating for us to see the name of God misused, and to see our fellow disciples of Christ mocked and persecuted. But we know that these things will happen. And at the right time all the world will come to understand the power of our God and will one day bow their knees before Him just as we have willingly done today. We can be grateful that God takes His own vengeance in due time, and also grateful that He is extremely patient with mankind so that most might one day choose to give Him honor rather than try and mock Him and deny His great power.

Lewis VanAusdle

Pastor, United Church of God

NYC, NJ, CT, Malawi, Zimbabwe