You aren’t a gardener if you don’t plant. You can clean, wash, pull weeds, prep soil, gather supplies, and more but if you never attempt to grow something you just simply aren’t a gardener. But planting is fraught with dangers and possibles. The plants may never take off. They may grow for a little but then die. They may die because of weather. They may grow but never produce flowers and fruits. Or they may flourish. But the only way to know is to actually plant the seeds.
This is precisely what Jesus teaches us in the Parable of the sower. A sower must sow and some plants will thrive and some will die. But in Jesus’ parable, he isn’t just teaching a gardening lesson – he is telling his disciples that anyone who wants to be His disciple must plant the seed – the word of God.
We are it truly followers of God if we do not attempt to actually plant we aren’t really a disciple.
But sometimes all the different possibility of responses dissuade us from trying. Jesus doesn’t shy away from that. He tells us plainly some people will receive and obey God’s words (the plants that thrive) and others won’t (the plants that die). Jesus tells us to exactly the types of reactions we will receive:
🧑🌾 Some seeds fall just in the hard path to road – these people are just not interested in listening or receiving God’s word. So, it never it had a chance to grow in their hardened heart.
🧑🌾 Some seeds will fall into rocky ground – these people will receive God’s word initially with joy but it is just a superficial or shallow joy. They never allow it to truly take root so the plant dies in their heart’s rocky soil.
🧑🌾 Some seeds will fall into thorny ground – these will will initially receive the word of God but they never pull out the worldly weeds from their life. So, the plant is choked out by the cares and distractions in their heart.
🧑🌾 But some seeds will fall into good ground – this people receive God’s word and they allow the seed to grow in the soil of their heart and mind. These individuals will grow and grow and begin to spread God’s word to others.
Now, stop for a moment think about Jesus, the greatest teacher there ever was, taught as many people as He could about God and he encountered every single type of the above people. Some straight out rejected Him. Some initially received Him but then turned away. Some received Him but allowed their lives or earthly desires to take priority over Him. These three groups were the vast majority of the people Jesus taught. Only a small small fraction of the hearts He encountered openly received His words and allowed them to grow in their hearts.
So, was Jesus a failed gardener because not all of His seeds grew? No! He did everything He could to help them grow but some plants flourish and some plants die. Jesus planted seeds until His last moments on earth and that is what makes Him a successful gardener. He never stopped planting.
So, do we want to be gardeners for God? If so, we must plant the seed regardless of how the seed grows. We must take action and sow the seeds of God’s kingdom. #lessonsfromthemastergardener
Adonai's Appeal 