Plant a Seed

Photo by Francesco Gallarotti on Unsplash

In my Christian walk with Jesus, I have been thinking a lot lately about how important it is to plant seeds. Not the kind for growing flowers or vegetables, although I would actually like to do that too, but the seeds that allow others to see Christ in me. These are the seeds of love, kindness, joy, and encouragement. By planting these seeds, my hope is to get others to see how wonderful and amazing Christ our Savior is. I want people to see Christ in me. I want to leave a good impression on people, thereby planting a seed.

Having this on my mind lately has also caused me to think of the parable of the sower. (It is also known as the parable of the four soils.) I love this parable because the four different types of soil represent different types of people. And, the older I get and the closer to God I get, the more I see these four different types of people in my life.

In the parable, Jesus shares with us that a sower scatters seeds, which fall on four different types of ground. The hard ground “along the path” prevents the seed from sprouting at all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. The stony ground provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns choke the life out of the beneficial plants. But, some seeds fall on the good soil and produces much fruit. (You can read about it in Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:2-9, and Luke 8:4-8.)

The meaning of the parable is transparent. (At least, I think so.) As children of God and for those of us who love Christ, we should be spreading the Word of God. We should be telling others about Him and the good news of His son, Jesus. We can start off by doing something simple; planting seeds of love, kindness, joy, and encouragement.

We can be like the sower in the parable and scatter seeds everywhere we go. We can, and should, be kind and caring to everyone we meet. (I know, I know, a lot easier said than done.) Some of these seeds that we disperse we land on hard, stony, or thorny ground. Sadly, and unfortunately, that is where most these seeds will land. But, some will find their way to fertile ground. Some will take hold and over time those seeds will take root, grow, and eventually produce an abundant crop!

And, because you can’t always tell what kind of “soil” a person has, that is precisely why you must sprinkle these seeds to everyone you meet. You never know which ones will take root. Plus, soil, like people, change. And, maybe, over time, that stony soil you planted that seed in will turn into fertile ground. You just never know. And, God has a way of doing that to people. (And, by that, I mean changing them!)

Sometimes rain comes along and washes the seed to a better location. Sometimes a cow comes along and poops all over the seed, therefore fertilizing it. I mean, think about it, most of us only change when something bad happens, when we face adversity, when we are face to face with a truly crappy situation. (This could be it the loss of a loved one, work or financial difficulty, serious health issues, or any combination of a million different things.) And, most of us only pray and seek God in these dark times in our lives. (You know it’s true!)
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So, if we, Children of God, are out there in the world trying to make it better by showering it with seeds of love, kindness, joy, and encouragement, we are bound to hit some lush ground. And, for all those times when our seeds hit the hard, stony, and thorny ground, we just need to take heart because all these good seeds that we are throwing will allow us to sow good things in our own lives.

Remember, in Matthew 12:33 we are reminded that a tree is recognized by its fruit. I don’t know about you, but I want to be recognized by my good fruit. And, I think if we make a conscious effort to spread around the good seeds of Jesus Christ, people will see us for the good fruit we produce.

I hope you will join me in spreading some seeds of love, kindness, joy, and encouragement today!