D. Closing Metaphor on Sowing (6:6-10)

Paul has now come to the end of a letter that could not have been easy to write. The proverbial thought of reaping what one sows gives the basis for his last exhortation. Paul writes that the way one lives will undoubtedly be recognized by God as a true indication of what one is. In fact, to sow to please one’s sinful nature may very well be related to Paul’s early discussion on circumcision—to be circumcised is to sow that which is of the flesh, which then results in death, for it misses the fullness of the gift of grace. To allow natural desires to bring forth their fruit results in a judgment of death, while to allow the spiritual presence to bring forth its fruit results in eternal life. V.9 suggests that eschatological judgment may be what Paul had in mind. Until the very end one should not be weary in doing good to all people, especially to the family of believers, for that is the norm for the disciples of Jesus (v.10). In this final metaphor Paul uses the imagery of the greater family of the redeemed of God.