We are all planting seeds, all the time. The only question is what kind of fruit will grow from our seeds? What does the Bible have to say about it? Jesus gave a parable on it. For a basic definition of a parable, it's a story designed to enlighten or show a lesson. Jesus used them frequently to be able to give a lesson to those who may not otherwise listen. Matthew 13:10-17 gives His explanation for using parables
An Explanation
10And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"11Jesus answered them, "(G)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
12"(H)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
13"Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while (I)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14"In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
'(J)YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND;
YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
15(K)FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL,
WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES,
OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES,
HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN,
AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
16"(L)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17"For truly I say to you that (M)many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
He goes on after this and gives the parable of the sower.
Matthew 13:18-23
The Sower Explained
18"(N)Hear then the parable of the sower.19"When anyone hears (O)the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, (P)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
20"The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he (Q)falls away.
22"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of (R)the world and the (S)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
23"And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some (T)a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
We scatter seeds to the world with our words and our actions. Make no mistake, the world is paying attention to us. Some are waiting to see us stumble and say, "Look at the foolish Christian, he can't even follow his own rules!" But others are watching to see if they want to join us. When we scatter seeds, some land in fertile soil and take root. These will grow into good strong Christians that will be as in verse 23 above. But we don't know who that is, so we scatter our seeds of good will and the love of Jesus, hoping and praying that they will grow.
I have one seed that has recently taken it upon itself to begin to grow. I pray that it will find good purchase and sunlight to grow into a healthy Christian. Questions are being asked, help is being given, these are the water and fertilizer needed.
Other seeds I have scattered have fallen on far more rocky ground and is not growing at all or the seeds have withered and dried up. I grieve for these and I pray that when I come back to these I will have the right words to help them see the truth. Still others, while they may not produce sudden converts to the faith, have proven to bear some fruit of potential friendship in areas that were less than hospitable before. Where I can find friendship, with God's help, we can create faith. Especially in areas that had once held faith before. Maybe someone that you find out was active in their church growing up, or in college. Sometimes you find someone who outright asks you about this crazy Christian thing.
So we continue to sow the seeds of Jesus. We scatter them as we go about our lives, nurture the ones that respond, build our own faith through the word to protect ourselves from the detractors, and pray for the ones that don't respond or fall away. After all, when the seed fell on me, at first I wasn't the best soil for it, but over time He changed me into something He could work with. God tends to work with the most unlikely of tools. Or in my case, a tool shed. But talking about the people He uses is for another day.
I wish for you many healthy seeds and good healthy dirt to work with, you are slowly becoming a very good gardener.
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