You must be asking yourself “why would a Christian devotion author write about a Buddhist or Hindu concept?” After all karma isn’t a Christian idea, or is it?

First, let’s look at what karma is. Karma is a concept that explains how intentional actions keep one tied to rebirth. You see in the Hindu religion they come back again and again and again, reincarnation. What they do in one life will determine what they become or what happens to them in the next life. Kind of funny huh, how this concept from another religion is similar to a fundamental Christian principle. Let me explain. 

It’s at the core of our beliefs. The concept of sowing and reaping.  In Galatians 6 verse 7 it declares “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from their flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the spirit, from the spirit will reap eternal life.” Interesting right? Even in Christianity we firmly believe that we reap what we sow and that our intentional actions in this life now will affect our next life, eternity.

Our actions do matter, although I want to very clearly state that they are not what makes us right with God. The only action that makes us right with God is faith in Christ to save us. Remember we could not save ourselves and it was only through Christ’s sacrifice that we received redemption and reconciliation with God. Our actions are not what gives us salvation. Salvation is given through Christ alone as a gift, not something we have earned though our actions. I also want to be clear when I say that even with God’s grace, we do not escape the consequences of our actions in this life. We do reap what we sow. And yes, our next life, our eternity is determined by what we sow here. 

The question we should be asking ourselves is are we sowing spiritual seeds or is our life all about feeding our own flesh? Is our faith alive and active? Are we practicing in true religion, which is service, sacrifice, and giving to others generously out of our gratitude for the salvation that we have been freely been given by God? Or is our faith dead and without evidence or support from our life? I say this very cautiously because I want to make clear that what we do outside of our acceptance of Christ as our Savior is not what reconciles us to God or saves us. However, what we do still does have a point. The fruit of our lives shows who we truly are and what we truly are. They will know us by our fruits. As Jesus told his disciples in John 15:8 ”This is my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit showing yourself to be my disciples.” Our fruit, what we reap is evidence of what we plant. When we plant Christ and his love, the fruit of that is what will be reaped.  

This is not a popular concept because it exposes us.  Let me explain. I vividly recall reading the scripture about how out of our heart the mouth speaks. At the time I was speaking bitterness. I had to admit that in my heart I had become bitter. I didn’t want to admit it, but it was true. When I looked at the fruit or the output, I saw the true state of my heart. There was rotten fruit there. It is the same for all of us, we should listen to ourselves and what we’re spreading.  We should examine ourselves and know what we’re saying and what we’re offering to others. By doing this, we will uncover areas of our life that need attending. Our words expose us. In spite of this situation, we find ourselves in, the state of being exposed as unrighteous does not leave us helpless or hopeless. We bring these weaknesses or areas of concern to our Holy Lord. God can heal and transform us. The first step is the step of recognizing our brokenness and weakness and it’s painful. 

Furthermore, it is not just our words that expose us but also our actions expose us. How you act says a lot about who you really are inside, and if you’re honest with yourself you know it’s true. I’m not talking about the things you do when everybody’s watching, I’m talking about the actions you take even when no one is around. Remember, man looks on the outside but God looks on the heart.  Out of the heart proceeds all our words and actions, so we must take care.  It’s good that we are exposed because only then can the branches of our life that need to be pruned be made known. That’s the thing about pruning, it leads to a much more productive plant, yet the process is painful. 

Truly though it is good that we are searched, known, and transformed by God although it might be painful at times. This is how God is completing his work in us and it’s a process. We don’t need to feel condemned because there’s a few bad apples on our tree. We are still human, and what we do has not saved us, so it also doesn’t condemn us. Through Christ sacrifice we’re freed from condemnation. The amazing thing is that the reason why we want to sow these good things is because by them we bring glory to God! That is the point of all the service and sacrifice and love that you share with others, to bring God glory. For us to demonstrate to the world God through the love we share. In this way they can see God as you are God’s hands and feet as a very real physical presence of God in our lost and dying world that desperately needs God’s touch.  

What does all of this have to do with karma, and why does karma even matter? Because we need to understand that reaping what we sow is the truth.  That we cannot escape in this life or the next one what we plant here. It is an inescapable truth and when we need to live in light of it changes how we live. We need to be careful to examine ourselves, to address the areas that need to be changed or transformed with God’s help.  We need to be careful and be honest with ourselves about what we are really sowing in this life. Our actions and choices, they must be intentional, and they matter. We can’t just do whatever and think that we can cry grace at the end of it and declare ourselves saved. God is the one who knows our hearts, he will not be mocked. We should check ourselves carefully, because God is not a fool! Whatever we sow that will we also reap! Do you know what you will be reaping? Ask yourself the hard questions because if God’s not going to be the one that’s found to be the fool, who do you think will be? Don’t let it be you.