Sow liberally

When a farmer sows seed, he does not count each seed and expect each one to grow to full maturity. He knows that some will not take root, some will be eaten by birds and some will get crowded out by other plants.  So he sows liberally, knowing that those seeds that do grow to maturity will produce a plentiful enough harvest.

It is the same in the parable of the sower where the seed represents the message about the kingdom (Matthew 13:18).  Some seed falls on the path and is snatched away. Some falls on stony ground and the plants that sprout up don’t get deep roots and so wither. Some plants gets choked with thorns. Only a final portion grows to full maturity and bears fruit. Jesus told his disciples that this parable represents the different responses people have to hearing the gospel.

 I have a tendency to feel with evangelism that it’s my job to somehow get the soil ready first or to make sure I only ‘sow’ when I’ve found ‘good soil’.  And if someone fails to respond to the gospel, I can feel it was down to my poor ‘sowing’ or preparing.

But Jesus told this very story while preaching to  a large crowd, many of whom did not respond to his message. And of those who did, the majority ‘fell away’ when persecution came.  This did not mean he shared the message with the wrong people or in the wrong way.  

And so we can learn a lesson about sowing from this: To walk through our lives liberally sharing God’s love and the message of saving grace with others.  And not to let the enemy get in with saying we somehow got it wrong because of the response or lack of it.

Father, forgive me when I let doubt and fear of how others will respond hold me back from speaking of you. May I sow liberally of your love and grace and always remember the job of producing a harvest is not mine.  Amen.

PS I'd just like to add a further word of testimony about the battle to 'sow the seed' and publish what I have written above. I held back from posting this yesterday because I felt it wasn't good enough.   Then today I read someone else's post about a similar thing at (In)courage:

http://www.incourage.me/2015/10/keep-planting-those-seeds.html

I was at first tempted to feel that their post is 'better' than mine and therefore mine not worth publishing. But that goes against the message I've been writing about and what they are saying too!  We need to continue to be faithful in doing small things - sharing simple words of encouragement - even if they are not stunning or world-changing. Each small act we do of sharing the good things God has given us, He can use for His glory.  So I choose to sow the seed of this post and pray that somewhere God can use these words (and/or the words of the other blog I've linked to) to bless and encourage you today.