US columnist CAROL ROUND, in an article first published on ASSIST News Service, looks at the Christian call to sow spiritual seeds…
Grove, Oklahoma, US
Via ASSIST News Service
“My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Don’t you have a saying, ‘It’s still four months until harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest’” – John 4:34-35 (NIV).
PICTURE: David Kovalenko/Unsplash
Numerous oak trees grow on my property, attracting the squirrels who love to gather the acorns carpeting my lawn. I enjoy watching their antics. The previous winter, I’d hung out suet feeders, which they hadn’t bothered.
This year, I hung several seed feeders because I love the variety of birds drawn to them. The beauty of each, even the sparrows, which are not as colorful as the cardinals, woodpeckers and finches also flocking to feed on the seeds and suet, leave me in awe of God’s creation.
On a recent warm day, after the last frost, I decided to clean out my front flowerbed. In front of my large living room window, I had placed a shepherd’s hook to hold three seed feeders. As the birds feasted at the feeders, their activity had left seeds scattered on the rich soil in my beds. As a result, tall green grass had sprung up.
After cleaning out the unwanted grass, I told a friend I should have placed the feeders underneath some of my oak trees where the grass doesn’t grow very well in the shade. However, I don’t know if the bird seed would have sprouted there since the soil is not as rich.
Likewise, if we think of the richness of our lives in Christ, we might recall how we came to know Him as our Savior and Lord. Pastor Charles Stanley writes, “It’s probably not possible to fully count all those spiritual seeds that God used to draw you to Him. And not all the people who sowed good seed into your life knew what the outcome would be.”
Knowing the outcome is not as important as the sowing, but we should be using every opportunity, every single day, to sow seeds into the lives of others. Whether it’s our children and grandchildren, friends or co-workers, or even strangers, God will take what we plant and add to it.
Pastor Stanley adds, “He leads others to sow further seed or ‘water’ the ground. Little by little, truth gets cultivated in their lives. What greater thing could you do?”
We don’t have to do heroic acts to sow seeds. If we want to produce genuine, lasting fruit, we need look no further than Galatians 5:22-23: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
God is interested in the little things we do. It’s the spiritual seeds we plant that accomplish the powerful work of His kingdom.
