Jesus also said, "this is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, wherever he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know why. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
Mark 4:26-28
In Biblical times, the preferred method of planting seeds was to walk through a field scattering seed by hand and letting them fall where they may. Some landed on rich, fertile soil and some on rocky, dry ground. Some grew, and some didn't. The farmer tended to his fields as best he could, but he really didn't understand the science of plant growth, nor did he have much control over what happened. So he prayed and waited for the grain to ripen, and when it did, he reaped the harvest and gave thanks for all that God had given him.
So it is with the seeds of the Gospel. We scatter the seeds far and wide and wait for them to grow. Like the farmer, we don't understand how this happens—why some respond to the Gospel message and others do not. It isn't for us to know. God is sovereign, and we accept that his plan for us is in place. So we pray, and we wait. And when it is time, we rejoice for the harvest, those people whose lives are transformed by the love of Jesus Christ, and give thanks and praise to Almighty God. And then, just as the farmer feeds his family, we go forth into the world to feed others through our words and actions.
Michelle Doran+ (2008)
