You asked

what practical steps can we take to 'not give up' when the 'due season' feels very far off?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Galatians 6:9

“Let’s not be weary in doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we don’t give up.”

The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the churches in Galatia, a region in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), likely in the mid-1st century CE. In this part of his letter, he is encouraging them to live by the Spirit and to continue supporting one another and their teachers, emphasizing practical love and perseverance.

How does the idea of an assured 'due season' influence our capacity to continue 'doing good' when it feels thankless or endless?

Then — the setting

Paul's letter to the Galatians addresses a community grappling with both internal strife and external pressure from those advocating for Jewish law observance as necessary for salvation. The exhortation 'not to be weary in doing good' (Galatians 6:9) comes at the end of a section encouraging mutual burden-bearing and generosity towards teachers (6:1-8). The 'due season' here implies not just a future heavenly reward, but also tangible benefits within their community, as a result of their persistent faithfulness and love. This was a call to sustained ethical living, distinct from ritualistic legalism, in a multi-cultural setting where new Christians were trying to understand what it meant to follow Christ.

Across the Testaments

The New Testament passage in Galatians builds upon a deeply rooted Old Testament understanding of sowing and reaping, where actions have consequences, and patience often precedes reward. Proverbs frequently speaks of the diligent hand bringing wealth (Proverbs 10:4) and the benefits of perseverance, while prophetic books like Hosea (Hosea 10:12) link sowing righteousness with reaping steadfast love. While the Old Testament often frames 'reaping' in terms of national prosperity or individual well-being in this life, the New Testament, especially Paul, often expands this to include spiritual growth, the building of God's community, and the ultimate eschatological hope of eternal life, without negating the present-day implications.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

2 Thessalonians 3:13
Encourages believers not to grow weary in doing what is right.
Hebrews 10:36
Highlights the need for endurance to receive what is promised.
James 5:7
Uses the farmer's patience as an analogy for waiting for the Lord's coming.

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