Today is…

the perfect day to think about where our seed landed.

“Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.”  Matthew 13:18 KJV

The story of the farmer sowing his seed is a wonderful example of the different ways in which people receive God’s message.

Some people simply pay no attention at all. They do not understand. Perhaps they have been raised in an atmosphere of non-belief or have somehow lost what belief they had because of tragedy in their lives that they blame on God. This may cause them to stop listening to God’s message altogether or disregard it. The world is full of people whose seeds have “fallen on the footpath.” We certainly do not want this to be us, but if it is, there is hope. One of the beautiful things about God is there is always hope. If this does not describe us, perhaps we know someone who is in this group.

Those of us who are not in this group have an obligation to pray for those who are.

Some of the seed that farmers scattered about fell in rocky soil. This seed represents those who hear the message and are immediately filled with joy, but that joy is not sustained for their roots are not deep. At the first sign of trouble or when problems arise, they feel abandoned so they abandon their faith. If this is us, we need to pray and remind ourselves that God never abandons us. He may not guarantee us life on earth with no trials to endure, but He does guarantee that He will stand with us to face them all.

If this is not us, we need to pray for all who are so affected.

If our seed fell among the thorns, it will bear no fruit, for we are too busy worrying about things that may never happen. We should be busy celebrating God’s glory and learning how to live our lives in a manner that is pleasing to God. Hopefully, this group won’t find us among its members, but if it does, we need to pray for God’s help in getting away and moving on to fertile soil.

And if we are not in this group, we need to pray for all of those who are.

The fourth group that Jesus taught about in the parable is the farmer planting his seeds right where we want to be, for Jesus said, “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23 NIV).

To hear God’s message is one thing, to understand is another. To plant the seeds of our faith in good, fertile soil so that our faith grows strong and abundant is extremely important.

Where did your seeds of faith land?

*******

Taken from “TODAY IS….A Gift From God”, (C) 2013 Tony Casson