Seeds...

I've been waiting for this passage, since I wasn't "signed up" for the Matthew version. This is the official parable of seed salesmen. 8~)

I did some work on this parable in preparation for going to India 3 years ago, as we were encouraged to have a "message" ready in case we were called on to speak.

As I was researching, it struck me that my customers, current-day farmers, would never sow seed on paths, or on rocky areas, or in areas infested with weeds. Seed is too valuable to waste by placing it where it will not grow. In fact, with today's technology, seed is carefully placed in the optimum areas and planting depths to guarantee a good stand and a good return. It seemed wasteful to me to, in essence, throw valuable seed away.

As Jesus points out when he is explaining the parable, the seed is the Word of God. It is not purchased, it is freely given by God to be spread about by the sower. Where we tend to operate from a "scarcity" mindset, God operates from an "abundance" mindset. He wants it to be spread far and wide, without consideration of the type of soil it lands on. As sowers, it is our responsibility to follow that direction. It is not up to us to decide who to tell, just to spread the Word.

Just as present-day farmers have the responsibility to sow seed, there is really not that much they do after that which determines the crop they will harvest. Yes, they can fertilize, control weeds, and maybe irrigate the ground, but the plant will germinate, grow and produce based on what God created it to do (just the miracle of germination is another whole story). We can do things to encourage the people we "sow" with the Word, but it is God who will take what we do and make the changes in their lives.

Abundance vs. scarcity. Interesting concept.