Planting Seeds

I was at the gym yesterday and I ran into my new friend Patrick. We started sharing stories about our tattoos, where we got them and what they mean to us. Patrick has a tattoo of a cross with some flames at the top of it and a profile of Jesus' face at the foot of the cross. He said that he thinks the flames makes it look too religious, and I told him that I think that it represents God's burning love and desire for him. Then I said this to him; "Did you know that Jesus spent most of His life trying to get people to stop being religious and to just simply follow Him? He is the way and the light". A look of confusion came upon Patrick's face, as if I just challenged everything that he knew about Jesus and what He stood for. I think in that moment I planted a spiritual seed.

The Parable of the Sower

1Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's edge. 2He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."

9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'[a]"

13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

I love the parable of the sower. I love seeing people who have just had a seed planted within them, and then watching them grow and blossom in the Word. I think of my own growth and how much I still have yet to do. I don't know if Patrick even remembered our conversation as soon as he stepped foot out the door of the gym that day. I'm sure it will cross his mind sooner or later, and when it does, I hope that he digs into his own faith and wrestles with God with all of his questions. I hope that, if a seed was planted, it continues to cultivate and grow. I hope that God uses me and what little I think that I know about Him to plant more seeds.

Peace!