Planting Seeds

I’m not a successful gardener by any measurement. It’s probably because I’m not patient enough to plan the seeds and nurture them along. My father-in-law plants and cultivates a huge garden each year. In fact, we enjoyed some of his harvest for Thanksgiving.

Jesus told a story of the kingdom of heaven being like a farmer who planted seeds. There is great application for me on many levels. Check this out….

³ “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. ⁴ As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. ⁵ Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. ⁸ Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” (Mark 4-3-8 NLT)

We are about to enter the winter season where I live, and most vegetation will lie dormant and look dead through the winter. They are very much alive even though they look dead. You can plant seeds year-round, but they must be planted in the right environment. Some farmers are growing plants in green houses during the winter months to protect the plants from the winter weather.

As I read this story Jesus told, I realized that I’m called to plant seeds. A few observations about this story….

The farmer didn’t plan in rows, he scattered the seed. He was planting a field with some sort of grain

The farmer planted everywhere in the field even though some parts of the field were not good to receive the seed.

I suspect the fertile soil was most of the field, otherwise the return on the farmers investment would be quite small.

I am called to plant seeds of God’s Word – which tells of His love all over the place. There are all sorts of people and personalities that I will sow seeds into, and it depends on them IF it produces a crop.  I can sow seeds of love and grace because I’ve been given both in abundance. I can sow seeds of forgiveness and mercy because I know what it’s like to experience both from the Lord.  I’m not responsible for the harvest, I’m in charge of sowing seeds of kindness.

I was reminded of the chorus of a song I first heard back in High School – the 70’s! The artist was Glenn Campbell – Try A Little Kindness

You got to try a little kindness
Yes, show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

I’m going to keep planting seeds and let the Lord grow them!

Pressing On!

Dwayne