The Weekly Word: Sowing seeds

By Pastor Coulter Page, Bethany Alliance Church

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.

— Matthew 13:23 ESV

Anybody else getting a little excited for spring? One of the things I love most about spring is planting my garden. I absolutely love gardening and look forward to that moment, normally in May, when I finally plant my garden.

This year, I am trying something new and different. I am starting some of my plants that I normally use starters for (tomatoes and peppers) with seeds inside.

A friend of mine set me up with some planting containers and talked me through how and when to do it all. I plan to embark on this endeavor next week.

As I prepare to put these seeds into these starter containers, I am reminded of the passage from above. It is a passage our kids learned about this past Wednesday at BAC Kids.

Jesus tells a story of a sower sowing seeds. Some fell on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on good soil.

At first glance, you might think, how careless. Who just haphazardly throws seed around like that? I know, when I plant, I am very meticulous about it all. But Jesus reveals the point of the story.

He explains that the seed going out is like the Word of the Kingdom going out. God’s Word is not to be contained. It is to be shared. It is to be spoken and lived out.

For all those that know and follow him, we are to be like the seed on good soil, producing more fruit. We should be multiplying and sending more seed out. It is not our place to determine if a person is the right soil or not. We are to just share it.

Often we hold back sharing about Jesus because we are just not sure if they are ready or willing.

That is not how we are to handle God’s Word. He is powerful. He is worthy to be shared. He is not something we should hold onto until we think we have found the right soil.

Let us be the “haphazard” sower who just gets the seed out and watch God do His work. Remember, we are also told that “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:13 ESV).

God’s Word can. Let’s go sow.

Prayer

Father, thank you for your Word. Thank you for your Good News. Help me to be someone who sows your Word well. Help me to take Jesus to the world. Amen.