“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:” (1 Corinthians 15:42-43). A lot of us will drag our feet in starting some new project, skill, or hobby because we do not like the idea of doing things badly, or, worse yet, being seen doing things badly. It would be so much better if we could just do it perfectly the first time. But that’s not how any of this works. We can’t do something perfectly or even just passably until we first do it poorly. We must first sow in incorruption. A lot of those seeds are going to sprout too early or too late or get eaten up by pests or stunted by soil that’s too rocky or tough or choked out by weeds or withered due to lack of watering or extremes in heat or cold. But if we are persistent and keep sowing more and more seeds in corruption, eventually some of them will be raised in incorruption. The incorruption is a gift from our Heavenly Father. We can’t attain perfection on our own. But neither will our Heavenly Father give us the gift of perfection until we have first sown a lot of imperfect seeds. We must first labor in dishonor and obscurity so that we can prove to ourselves and the Lord that this is not a whim or a passing fancy but the true and committed desire of our hearts, and also because putting in the hard, thankless work will build in us a depthness and a toughness so that when the glory finally comes flooding in, we will have room to receive it and the capacity to endure it. Before the Lord will trust us with His power, He must first see that we are able to work with the weaknesses that He has given us. If we can be faithful with our weaknesses, He will transform them into strengths. If we are bad at communicating, we have to sow a lot of bad seeds of communication before the kind of trust and intuition and empathy essential for good communication can begin to grow and flourish. If we struggle to keep this or that commandment, we have to sow a lot of bad seeds of keeping the commandments half-heartedly, or hopping on and off the wagon over and over, or keeping the commandments for the wrong reasons or because we feel obligated to by our family members instead of from our own sense of duty, and only then will we start to see some true obedience and faithfulness and remorse for our sins and gratitude for our forgiveness begin to blossom and grow strong inside of our heart. Anything worth doing well is worth doing badly at first. I hope we can all learn a little more each day to set aside our pride and prepare room in our lives to sow a few more seeds in incorruption and dishonor and weakness so that we may one day reap in incorruption, glory, and power.
