February 5, 2010

Sow A Seed Today

What's your occupation? People usually respond to this question with a
description of their work - what they do for a living. While our
business occupations are important to God, there is an occupation that
should be foremost in the heart and mind of every Christian believer.
In whatever we do, God has called us to be Kingdom seed sowers.

To help us to understand this responsibility, Jesus gave us a parable.
As a quick sidebar, the word parable comes from two Greek words which,
when used together means "to throw alongside." Jesus, wanting us to
understand significant principles in His Kingdom, would often "throw
alongside them" a story or illustration to help us grasp the truth He
was teaching.

In Matthew 13 we find a great story or parable that is very familiar to
most believers. It is often referred to as "The Parable of the Sower."
While there are many lessons in Jesus' illustration, at the heart of the
parable is call to you and me. Take a look at how the story begins:

"A farmer went out to sow his seed." - Matthew 13:3

Without taking time to explain all aspects of this teaching , there are
three main parts of the parable that we need to understand:

The seed that is sown - which is the good seed of God's Word.
The farmer who sows the seed - you and me; followers of Jesus Christ.
The soil that receives the seed - the hearts of people in whom the seed
is sown.
Let's zero in on our responsibility. Jesus wants all of us to be fully
engaged in the process of sowing good seed in other people's lives.
Jesus doesn't ask us to inspect the soil before we sow Kingdom seed, He
simply says, "Sow!" We are to be "broadcasters" of the seed of God's
love and good news everywhere we go.

How do we do this?

Sowing good seed is not complicated. We sow by giving a warm smile to
someone who is discouraged, by speaking healing words to someone who is
in pain, by being kind to people around us, by bearing burdens for
people who are overwhelmed, and by sharing the hope of Jesus when we
have an opportunity.

What's your occupation? Are you living every day as a Kingdom farmer,
sowing good seed in the lives of the people God has placed in your life?

Go sow some good seed today!

Pastor Dale