Part 2 Seeds Don’t Forget.

If you haven’t read Part 1 yet, go check it out first.

Now… let’s get into the juicy story. 👀

Let me tell you a story.

The Apology I Never Forgot

More than ten years ago—wow, time really flies—I knew someone who had been dating a guy for about three years.

Eventually, the guy realized the relationship wasn’t right for him.

And truthfully, he had valid reasons.

He was genuinely trying to walk with God, while the woman he was dating seemed to be walking with God primarily because of him rather than because of her own personal conviction.

And we already know how difficult that foundation is.

You cannot build someone else’s relationship with God for them.

So his decision to leave wasn’t necessarily the problem.

The way he handled it was.

He became dodgy.

Shady.

Manipulative.

The entire situation was handled badly.

And I remember being extremely disappointed because this was someone who claimed to be a man of God.

I thought:

How can you claim to know God and handle another human being’s heart like this?

Then, within about two months, we heard he was engaged to be married.

You can imagine how painful that was for the woman he had been dating for years.

But before he got married, he did something I never forgot.

He came back.

Not to restart the relationship.

Not because he wanted her back.

Not because he was confused about his marriage.

He asked for a one-on-one meeting with the person he had hurt.

And face-to-face, he sincerely apologized.

He acknowledged what he had done.

He acknowledged how badly he had handled the situation.

He took responsibility.

He understood something powerful:

You don’t want to build a new foundation while refusing to deal with the wrong you knowingly left behind.

When I heard what he had done, my respect for him went through the roof.

Because that takes courage.

It is easy to apologize to God privately where nobody can see you.

It takes another level of humility to sit across from someone you hurt, look them in the eyes, and say:

“I was wrong.”

That is strength.

That is maturity.

That is what a man who fears God should be willing to do.

Because think about it.

He was about to enter marriage, and he understood the principle of sowing and reaping. He needed to do right because one day, he could have a daughter of his own—and he wouldn’t want another man treating his daughter the way he had treated someone else’s.

Whew.

Read that again.

Today, that man is happily married.

And guess what?

He has a daughter.

Imagine that.

He did not know what his future would look like when he made that apology.

He couldn’t control whether the woman would forgive him.

She could have rejected the apology.

She could have lashed out.

But her response wasn’t his responsibility.

His responsibility was to do what was right.

And he did.

Stop Protecting Your Pride and Deal With Your Seeds

Sometimes people go through life hurting others and never stopping to make things right.

Then years later they cannot understand why certain areas of their lives remain shaky.

• Why relationships continually collapse.

• Why the same painful patterns keep appearing.

• Why there always seems to be something.

Sometimes we need enough humility to ask ourselves uncomfortable questions.

God, is there anything in my past I never truly dealt with?

Have I genuinely repented?

And then:

Is there someone I knowingly and deeply hurt that I need to make things right with?

Not every situation requires you to contact someone again.

Sometimes reaching out would be unwise, unsafe & disruptive

Restitution requires wisdom and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

But sometimes?

You know exactly who you hurt.

You know what you did.

You know you handled it wrongly.

And the reason you haven’t apologized isn’t because God told you not to.

It’s because you’re embarrassed.

Or afraid.

Or proud.

Pride and Fear Work Together

That is one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned:

Pride and fear often work hand in hand.

Sometimes the person who refuses to apologize isn’t as confident as they appear.

Deep inside, they are ashamed.

The apology would force them to acknowledge their failure.

So they mask fear with pride.

Your Harvest May Have Your Last Name

This is bigger than you.

That is the part I want people to understand.

Some seeds don’t just have your name on them. They can impact your generations as well.

That should make us think differently about how we live.

Before you manipulate someone because it’s convenient:

You’re sowing.

Before you cheat somebody and celebrate because you “got away with it”:

You’re sowing.

Before you refuse to apologize because your pride won’t allow it:

You’re sowing.

And this principle isn’t only negative.

Every time you choose integrity when dishonesty would be easier:

You’re sowing.

Every time you show mercy:

You’re sowing.

Every time you humble yourself:

You’re sowing.

Every time you obey God when obedience costs you:

You’re sowing.

And someday somebody may eat from a tree planted by a decision you made years ago.

Your children will  live under the shade of seeds you planted before they were born.

So plant carefully.

Before You Move Forward, Ask God to Look Back

My advice?

Ask God to search your heart.

Not so you can live condemned by your past, but so you don’t carry unresolved wrongs into your future.

Ask Him:

Who have I hurt?

Where was I wrong?

Where did pride keep me from taking responsibility?

Where has fear disguised itself as strength?

Is there anything You want me to make right?

And when He shows you something, obey Him.

Apologize when an apology is needed.

Make restitution when restitution is appropriate.

Repent

Humble yourself.

Because Galatians 6:7 isn’t just a nice Bible verse to put on a graphic:

“Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”

That’s a principle.

So before you sow something into somebody else’s life, remember:

The seeds we sow have a way of finding us.

And if what you’ve been sowing isn’t what you want your children and generations to reap—change the seed while you still have the chance.

🎶 Music Time

A.C. Wells — “When He Calls You Higher”

My favorite line: “The saddest thing is when we think we are serving the Lord, but we are not.”

Whew. That line. 🔥