Checking the mail brings a sense of eager anticipation for gardeners this time of year. Seed catalogs are dropping, and there’s nothing like dreaming of soil prep, planting and seeing those first shoots coming up—especially when wintry weather still reigns supreme in northern climes.
Leafing through the catalog pages of Johnny’s, Gurney’s, Burpee, Harris or Territorial, you can almost smell aromatic cantaloupes, taste the spicy crunch of a fresh radish, and imagine holding those prickly cucumbers. Each page and every photo holds the promise of good things to come.
Jesus is into gardening too. His harvest will be everlasting, but sowers are needed!
The books of Matthew, Mark and Luke all record Him telling the parable of the sower and the seed. You’ll recall how seeds that fell on the path were eaten by birds. Other seeds in rocky areas sprouted but withered in the sun. Thorny weeds choked the growth of still other seeds. Finally, some seeds landed and grew in rich soil, producing a bountiful harvest. The seed in the parable, of course, being the Word of God.
Each of us can sow God’s Word personally and through Bible workers in faraway countries. That Word will find root in receptive hearts touched by the Holy Spirit, and soon there will be a time for harvest.