Rocks and Thorns and Well-trodden Ground
Do you know the parable of the sower(Luke 8:4-15)? I kneel down in front of the children and show them the tiny seeds and the pot of fresh dark moist soil. Then we compare it to the sidewalk and the tray of rocks. Where will the seed grow the best? Wisconsin children know about gardening and how to make sure plants grow by watering them, fertilizing the ground and planting marigolds to keep out the bunnies and deer. We talked about weeds and why they are bad and how we have to keep weeding regularly if we want our plants to grow up strong and bear good fruits.
But that’s when the story started to hit home. The Sunday school lesson took a turn and asked if we were sowing seeds of God’s word in other’s lives? Sometimes that seed might land where it will not grow and we need to be prepared for that sobering reality.
Yeah, I’ve been prepared. Actually, I’ve held the seed in my hand and looked at the ground around me and considered whether tossing seed on hard ground was worth my time. I mean, why waste words talking to someone you just KNOW won’t listen…But the funny thing is, it seems like the grass always makes it’s way into all those cracks and crevices in the hard sidewalk. It’s like it wants to grow wherever it can, regardless of how hard the path. That’s how tenacious truth is!
I’ve tucked the seed packet in my back pocket and glanced at the rocky places, just certain nothing could ever grow there. Yes Satan does swoop in and steal away the truth, but have you ever seen those amazing trees growing out of the side of a cliff? They are clinging to the rocks and somehow in that environment their roots find water and nourishment. Do you see that GOD can make the seed of His Word grow anywhere? No one is too tough for Him? No one is too worn down by life or walled in with self-sufficiency. God’s Word does not come back void (Isaiah 55:11) and yet I’ve been choosing where to carefully place the truth. No, Jesus said the sower threw the seeds out on all types of soil. God alone knows where it will grow into something fruitful, so I can’t be picking and choosing to sow seeds of truth only where it looks like it might take root.
A fellow sower,
Heather
What beautiful truth, Heather. You are right; we do not know where His Word will take root, but we need to trust that God can make it grow.
I love this one, Heather!!! Thank you for sharing!!