Seeds Everywhere

Matthew 13: 3 – Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seeds.

This past Sunday we looked at the parable of the sower.  In this story a farmer spreads seeds across several types of terrain.  Typically the emphasis of this parable is on the soil descriptions– hard, rocky, thorny, or productive – and how it relates to us.  In Into the Mess, Debie Thomas invites us to look at this parable from a different perspective.   Instead of focusing on the soils, consider the actions of the sower who is spreading seed.  The seeds are being scattered in unexpected places.

Truth be told, the sower doesn’t sound like a very good farmer.  Farmers are careful to plant seeds in soil where they can maximize their yield.  We are like efficiency-minded farmers.  We invest in things that give us a return.  The farmer in this story is quite different, and it is truly noteworthy because this farmer represents how God is.  God is spreading seed everywhere – handfuls everywhere. 

This story is a reminder that God is planting seed in every part of our life, even the areas that we gave up on a long time ago.  The message here is that God defines what is good soil.  In Genesis 1 God looked at humanity and called us “very good”.  Ever since then God has placed fistfuls of seed in areas of our life that are hard and sun-scorched.  God has spread buckets of seed on the areas where we have doubts.  God has dumped seed all over those situations we worry over. 

With that in mind, I invite you into this prayer.

God, please open my eyes to see the seeds you have planted in my life, even in the hard, rocky, and thorny parts.  Help me to see that good things can still come forth even in the unlikeliest of places.  Rekindle my hope and help me have patience.