Empowering One More

You see, there are actually two lenses we are using to examine The Sower and The Seed.  Both offer good news and encouragement.  Both remind us that there is more a play here than just the Word and Spirit of God.

The farmer sows some seed (God's word), scattering it all around.  It falls on different types of soil.  The soil is the condition of the person's heart.  We have control over the condition of our own heart.  We can make our heart hard like the path, not allowing the seed to seep in.  We can break it up a little like the rocks, and allow the seed to grow quickly but remain shallow.  We can allow weeds and thorns to grow in there, choking out the seed.  We have the power of God, however, to soften our hearts, break up the rocks, remove the weeds and thorn bushes leaving only good soil for God's word.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. (Luke 8:15 NIV)

You understand how a plant produces a "crop" of plants, right?  The seed grows into the plant or tree.  When it matures, it has other seeds that the plant or tree drops in the soil around it.  When those seeds grow to maturity, they drop seeds as well.  The process continues until you have a whole crop. We can plant seeds in our own lives, getting the word of God.  We can soften our hearts to make good soil.  When we do, we can be sure that God will make it grow.

I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. (1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV)

When planting seeds in the lives of others, however, we reminded of our part of the process.  We plant seeds (God's word).  We do not control the other person's heart.  We also do not cause the seed to grow.  The parable encouraged the apostles to keep planting seeds, even when some of them do not grow, some of them wither quickly, and some of them plateau because of the worries of this world.

We know of the thousands who came to Christ on the day of Pentecost.  What about the thousands, though, who ignored the message or mocked them for "being drunk."  How many of the thousands who were baptized that day quit on the first day of persecution?  How many plateaued and never helped the apostles reach more?  We don't know but it doesn't really matter.  The apostles remained faithful.  Many others who the apostles taught remained faithful, too.  Over two thousand years later, we are still benefiting from their faithfulness.  They kept planting seeds and some of them produced a crop.

How about you?  What is the condition of your heart?  Are you turning it into good soil?  Will you mature and plant seeds, too?  Will your planting yield a crop of healthy plants?  Will you remain faithful?