It’s almost time to get the garden ready! I’m thinking about what I learned last year in how I laid out my raised beds, and how I will do it differently based on the results! Spinach and lettuce seeds will be first this year, and I can already taste how wonderful they will be!
One of my favorite parables is found in Matthew 13:1-9:
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.” (NIV)
I love this parable because Jesus is giving us an image of the job we are to do – sow seeds. The seeds will fall in many places, so it is God’s job to prepare for growth (prevenient grace). So often we get discouraged when our seeds don’t fall on receptive hearts, that we forget to keep sowing! Perhaps it would help our seeds of love and kindness if they were rooted in prayer for how God will use them, praying that the hearts are receptive and that we can see some growth! It is also part of our job to provide some water and fertilizer so that the seeds have a better chance. We provide this nutrition through investing in other people, continuing to build relationships, offering the kinds of interactions that can produce disciples for Jesus.
It is my understanding that sowing seeds, investing in their growth, and giving God the glory for the harvest is the work of all believers – lay and clergy. Who we are as we go about our daily lives really are the seeds that God is calling us to sow – everything we say and do is our witness of Jesus, which can be planted in other’s lives! So, as we move into spring, prepare your seeds of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23) and sow those seeds – everywhere you go!
