Sowing Seeds

 I have been reading a book containing sermons by John MacArthur. As I was sitting on my porch one morning, God gave me some insight from one of his sermons. I used it to make a very important point with my Sunday school students. Hopefully I can tie this all together.

Jeff has suddenly taken great interest in birds. We now have three bird feeders in our yard. I cannot even begin to describe how much joy it brings him each morning as he watches those delightful little creatures drop more seeds on the ground than they actually consume. Recently, I had to relocate one feeder because the seeds were beginning to grow in my flower bed. Green sprouts were shooting up everywhere. One morning, I noticed something strange where the bird feeder once stood. It appeared to be a corn stalk! I left it there and watched it grow for several days and told Jeff I was going to see if it would produce some corn, however, God had different plans. He used John MacArthur and a kernel of corn to teach me a very powerful lesson.

The scripture he used comes from Mark 4:26-29. He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

MacArthur states, “Our Lord spoke about the kingdom of God, and by that He meant the sphere of salvation over which He reigns, the dominion of His Lordship over believers. What is it like? It’s like the seed that sprouts and grows, and the farmer does not know how it happens. And he’s the expert, by the way. He is the agricultural expert. The wonder of the gospel is this: You sow the gospel, and you go to sleep, and it grows. We have no control over that. We don’t know how that happens any more than the farmer knows how that seed, which is dead or dormant in the ground, produces life." Matthew 13:19 says, “That which was sown in the heart.” MacArthur goes on to say, “So the soil is the heart. I can sow the seed; I can’t change the heart. Are we agreed? That’s beyond me. I’m like the farmer. I just sow the seed and go to sleep. I’m not in charge of the heart.”

I was totally unaware of how many seeds fell from the bird feeder into my flower bed. I certainly did not expect a corn stalk to appear, but once those seeds fell, it was God who made them grow. I had nothing to do with that. I explained to my students that all God is asking of us is to be seed planters in this fallen world. We have no role but to sow the seed and go to sleep and let God do the work.

So, I challenge all of us to take one day at a time and become seed planters for God’s kingdom. Pray for the lost, smile at a stranger, visit a shut-in, share the gospel, invite someone to church. Sow seeds of love, kindness, and compassion wherever we go.

This is a photo of my beloved corn stalk. I am pretty sure I will be going to the Berry Patch should I decide to serve corn for dinner; however, it will remind me to sow seeds each day and to remember that I am not in charge of the results. Michael Portillo said it best. “You never quite know what you do in life that leaves a seed behind that grows into an oak tree.”

Never underestimate the power of a seed!