Seed

Luke 8:11-15

This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.  Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and take away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.  Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root.  They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.  The seed that fell among thorns stand for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.  But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

Luke 8:8

Still other seed fell on good soil.  It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.

Today was a beautiful day to plant a garden…and that is exactly what I did.  Several men from church have been tilling my garden getting it ready for the seed and today was the day.  I love gardens…vegetable, flower and herb…but the vegetable garden holds a special place in my heart.  That is the garden that Rick and I always did together.  Each year he prepared the soil, I bought the seed, he got the tools and everything needed to plant and we worked side by side putting the seed in the ground.  Today was good and hard at the same time…bitter and sweet…happy and sad.  Especially when I couldn’t get the tiller started…I let God know that since Rick wasn’t here to do it, I REALLY needed Him to help me.  He immediately placed in my mind that I hadn’t set the choke right.  I moved it into place and with one pull…success!

There is something special about placing a very small seed in the ground, covering it with dirt, watering it and waiting for it to produce a crop.  The whole purpose for planting is the belief that what we are planting will produce a crop.  A crop that will benefit us and those we love or we wouldn’t waste our time planting.  But, we don’t just put the seed in the ground and then walk away.  As we wait for the crop we will do whatever is necessary to make sure we get the very most from what we have planted.  We will water, mulch, pull weeds, thin the plants, prune and then spend much time harvesting the crop itself.  All because we believe the seed that we planted is worth all this effort.  We will even re-plant if we have to…if weather or something else unforeseen should keep it from producing.

Jesus was a Master at analogies…and this parable is one of His greatest.  The Word is the most precious Seed that will ever be planted in us or by us into someone else.  But, as wonderful as this Seed is, much of it’s power in us has to do with what we will do with it, once it is planted.  I must make sure that my heart…or my soil…is the very best possible.  It must not only be good soil, but it must be well cultivated.  Sometimes the cultivation process hurts.  There are many things we go through in this life that God will use to cultivate our hearts….turning our heart soil into soil that is so broken it is ready for God to come in and grow His seed.  But, even though the cultivation process has taken place doesn’t mean that the Seed will grow.  There may still be rock or thorns that will try to keep the Seed from growing…I must continue to work  the garden.

I particularly love one part of this passage.  Jesus says here that we must HEAR the Word.  When Rick was sick and could not get out of bed, I would sit in the bedroom at night and read the Word to him.  He would lay facing me with a smile on his sweet face, especially when I read Revelation.  That taught me a wonderful lesson.  I fell in love with reading the Word out loud…and hearing it with my own ears.  It was almost as if I was in the story as I read it.  Jesus says I must hear it with my ears…then I am responsible to retain it.  When we study for a test, the only way to retain something is to read it over and over again.  We must have the Seed of the Word planted over and over again to be able to retain it.  Once it is there, then we persevere to keep it there.  We do not want to be like the path, the rock and the thorns.  Persevering means we do the work…whatever it takes to keep that Word planted in the good soil of our heart.  We want our crop…we must do the work.

Once we have persevered and the seed sprouts and produces a crop…according to Jesus it isn’t just any ole’ crop.  It is a crop that produces a HUNDRED TIMES what was sown. In one season.  One Season.  Jesus has said here that when we plant the Seed of the Word into GOOD SOIL…we retain it…persevere in caring for it.  He has promised a HUGE harvest.  We will have many different seasons in our lives…some good and some bad.  Some that require seemingly little care of the soil of our heart and others that require more time than we ever thought we could give.  But, the outcome will be the same…a huge crop.  Changed lives,  marriages healed, relationships restored,  joy when..by the world’s standards..there shouldn’t be, peace, patience, lives taken from darkness into the Kingdom of Light, selfless living and giving and so much more.

I am watching and waiting for the hundred fold crop from Rick’s life.  I see evidence of it almost daily…but I want to see more.  Some of it God allows me to be witness to here and now…other fruit I won’t witness until I see Jesus face to face.  But, I know that there is now, and will continue to be, much fruit from his life and death.

Do we believe the Seed planted in us is worth the effort?  It is worth everything…absolutely everything.

Sending much love,

Debbie

This entry was written on May 1, 2010 at 12:16 am