The parable of the sower in Mark 4 is one of those passages that I learn something from every time I read it. Last spring I bought a new bible, straight up with no commentary. I made a vow not to write in it. If you're like me, my eyes will immediately go to anything that has been previously underlined, circled, or question-marked, and I'll wonder why I wrote what I did (or I'll wonder where in the world I got a green pen and why I would choose to use that to write notes in the margin). And just like that, I'm sidetracked. My mind is already prone to wander, so I've found that not writing in my bible now will help me focus in the future when I read the same passage. Anyway, the sower. He's out there casting his seed all over the place. Rocky ground, dry ground, potentially good soil, etc. All kinds of parallels we could make between this parable and how we can cast our seed wide and far because we don't know exactly how it will hit the hearts of those we meet. Winter is finally on the outs and spring is here (...sort of). And with spring comes planting season on the farm. Growing up I loved reading how Pa Ingalls in the Little House on the Prairie books would flick his wrist a certain way and the seed he was planting would fall into place in the rows. He was so proud of his 40 or 60 acres of corn or wheat. Now, we have huge machinery to do the planting. (Cue my younger brother and his extensive knowledge of the newest equipment on the market, complete with GPS and lots of other technical things that I don't understand). We've got spring planting down to a science. Buy the seed, load it in the planter, hit a few buttons and you're good to go. I know, it's not quite that simple. It's actually a lot more complicated than it was when Pa would plow using his oxen and then walk along and drop the seed in. But now we get these straight rows of seed, perfectly spaced in even lines. You can plant hundreds of acres of corn in the time it would have taken Pa to plant a few. We've automated the system to increase efficiency. But I probably shouldn't try to do the same thing when sharing the gospel. I want to. Because to me, it's more efficient to standardize and streamline. Yes we have tools that help guide conversations, and outlines or points to remember to cover to keep us on track. Those things are actually super helpful. But a "one-size fits all" approach is a pretty terrible plan. We aren't guaranteed neat little rows of disciples that grow into mature, fruit-bearing plants/people. Each person's story and God's pursuit of their heart is different. Some may shoot up quickly, grow for quite awhile, and then end up being overtaken by weeds. Some may hardly grow at all. Some will grow at a slow, steady rate and someday, all of a sudden, they are mature and we wonder how that happened. Regardless of the type of soil or plant, we can't control the growth. We can only remain diligent to do all we can to help it grow. "But I, brothers, could not address you as spiritual people, but as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it. And even now you are not yet ready, for you are still of the flesh. For while there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not of the flesh and behaving only in a human way? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not being merely human? What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth." - 1 Corinthians 3.1-7 ESV
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Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
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