Scripture:
Mark 4:3-8
Quick Summary:
A farmer
plants seeds on different soils with different results.
The Point:
When we share
God with others, we will not always get the results we want...but we should
still share with everyone.
Questions for
Family Time:
1. Why did the farmer waste seed
on all those places?
a. Because,
maybe there was some good soil there. Maybe a plant would grow.
2. Who does the farmer represent?
a. Me!
3. What does planting the seed
represent?
a. Sharing God’s
word with others, that they could grow into a disciple of Jesus.
4. What do the different soils represent?
a. The path is like people who don't even really listen. The rocky place are those who accept it for a minute and then go after the next thing. The thorns are like those who let the troubles of the world steal their hope. The good soil are those who accept God's word and live it, who grow to share God's word themselves.
Deeper:
I love the garden
metaphor in this story…but not because I am a good gardener. Here is how I
garden: Every winter, I start getting excited about what I will plant. I keep
adding to my list until spring finally breaks, and I have listed way more than
I can care for. I go to the store and get plants and seeds, trying hard to not
pick more than I really can manage, always trying a couple new things I know
nothing about but the kids like from the grocery store. One year I experimented
with beets. One year it was kale. I plant my garden, and hope some things will
take. Sure enough, with a little time, sprouts appear. Sometimes, things sprout
I didn’t even mean to sprout, what my mom always called volunteers. These guys
were from last year’s garden or seeds in the compost that somehow germinated. One
year, I was so excited about some volunteer pumpkins; I let them take over the
garden.
The thing that I
often seem to struggle with the most in getting things to grow is the balance of
waiting and care. Too much attention and the plants die from being over-watered.
Too little attention and they end up choked out by weeds. There is a balance
between waiting and not forgetting that I often don’t strike just right. The
other thing I have learned is that different plants like different soil. What
made my beets grow in abundance may have very well been the reason my other
plants refused to sprout.
Jesus tells us
this story about gardening right after sending out his disciples to share the
word of God. I imagine they came back with mixed results. Jesus shared with
them that people are like seeds in the garden. Their environment and experience
makes a big difference in whether they are ready to do something with God’s
word.
You would think
that at this point, it would be clear. He would tell his disciples to seek out
those who have the best environment, the “good soil” and only plant there. Why
waste the work in planting seeds among paths, rocks, and weeds?
But Jesus, he never tells a
story like we are expecting. Instead, he tells us to plant everywhere. There
will be people who we share God with that won’t even be listening. There will
be people who will be excited, until the next thing strikes their fancy. There
will be people who let the influence of others around them pull them away from
God. But there will also be people that
hear the word of God, and are changed forever. These people will go on to plant
more seeds than we did.
We often make the
mistake of thinking that we are the plant in this story, and somehow it is our
job to make sure we are in good soil. But we are not the plant. We are the
farmer, the gardener. We are the ones who are throwing God’s word into the
word, sharing the love of Jesus with everyone. Even in places that seem like
bad soil. Sometimes we have disappointing results. Sometimes we have great
results. Whatever the results, we keep on planting.
I think Jesus
told this to his disciples to remind them that those moments when they felt
they had failed, when their effort seemed fruitless, it’s not always the farmer’s
fault. It’s not the seed. There are other things that we have no control over
that keep people from God. Our job is to do the best we can on scattering the
seed, and trust God to work on growing it. Just like I am learning with my
garden, we are always balancing waiting with care. Jesus reminds us to not be
so distracted with the ones who don’t allow God’s word to change them, that we
forget to see those who do, who go on to plant their own seeds.
Personal
Reflection:
How do you spread the seed of God’s
word? Where do you spread it? How do you balance waiting and care?
