Galatians 6:7 warns, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” How do we interpret this verse will tell a lot about how we live our lives? As we all know life is full of making choices. Generally, when we make good and sound choices, we enjoy good and sound outcomes. But when we entertain bad influences and weak foundations, we make bad choices and we have to live with the consequences. Many references and stories in the Bible use “seeds” as a topic or metaphor. In Matthew 13:1-9 Jesus is described as telling a large crowd the parable of the Sower. To help understand we should know that the word “sow” or “to sow” can be the same as “to teach.” If you sow an idea or tell a story you will be teaching. He explains that the farmer will go out and sow seeds in his field. Some of the seeds will land on the path which is not plowed and the birds eat the seed. These seeds will never take root or develop. Essentially these seeds are wasted. This describes a certain number of people where the message that Jesus is teaching will not take root and will be wasted. Jesus goes on to tell his listeners that some of the seeds fell in the rocky area where the dirt was shallow and warm from the sun and these seeds sprang up quickly. But these quick-growing plants had very few roots and became scorched by the hot sun. This describes people that hear God’s word, get excited for the moment, and quickly forget the reason for the message. Then Jesus tells the crowd that some of the seeds fell on good ground but were surrounded by thorns and weeds. These seeds tried to grow but were choked out by their surroundings. These seeds very accurately describe people that allow their surroundings to influence them and ruin their faith in the message that God is trying to convey to them. These folks are associated with evil, they listen to the wrong message, and as hard as they may try the devil will win in the end. Jesus’s final description is where the seeds fall and where the farmer intended for them to fall in the fertile, plowed, prepared soil. These seeds took strong root, were well-nourished, grew as the farmer has intended, and produced a crop. Jesus promises these seeds will produce “thirty, sixty, or a hundred times the crop.” These seeds describe people that hear God’s message and make a sincere and conscientious effort to live in accordance with the teaching of Jesus. Jesus ends this parable by stating, “whoever has ears, let them hear.” This parable was important enough to appear in Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, and Luke 8:4-8. All three times the story is very much the same with just a very few chances.
The Gospel of Mark continues using parables using “seeds” as the central theme. Mark wants to show what God’s kingdom taught by Jesus is all about. Mark 4:26-29 starts very much the same as the parable of the “Sower” but goes into the planting, growing, care of the fields, and finally the harvest of the plants. Mark wants to metaphorically show the nature of God’s kingdom as described by Jesus. Mark 4:26-29 starts by stating that “this is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.” This is where the farmer(man) turns the process over to God. The verse continues by stating, “Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not know-how. All by itself, the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, and the full kernel in the head.” From the time the farmer scattered the seed up to now, the whole process has been in God’s hands. Now some hundred twenty days later the crop is ready. In verse 29 it states, “As soon as the grain is ripe, he (the farmer) puts the sickle to it because the harvest has come.” If we look at this closely, we see that the farmer puts in a lot of work to produce the crop, but the real miracle of growth and rejuvenation is God’s work. This parable that is only in Mark shows that God sows his message to us and in time will come to reap his harvest. This can be interrupted by the work that is done in each of us through the “Holy Spirit”. When God plants the “Holy Spirit” (seed) in us does it take root and produce a crop in us worthy of God’s harvest? This particular parable can also be used to caution us to be careful when judging other folks. If our Pastor or if you have ministered to someone and do not see results, we should not be disappointed. We do not know the length of time it may take for the “Holy Spirit Seed” to mature and develop in them. Each person and each plant have their germination controlled by God. We need to remember that only God is in control of the harvest and will let us know when we need to know and not before.
Now that we see how important planting seeds can be we should also consider how we allow seeds to be planted in our own lives. We should be in control and the master of the thoughts we allow to be planted in our minds. Humans tend to believe what they allow their thoughts to tell them. Our minds or psychic is very much like a garden. We should be very cautious as to what we allow to be planted in this very personal garden. We all live in a world that we create every day by what we think about. If we allow others to control the planting of negative seeds in our thought they may or may not be there to help you harvest leaving you alone with whatever grew from the seed. We all want to live productive, happy, and healthy lives and this depends directly on what we harvest from our minds. We depend on making good choices to achieve the life we want. If the garden in your mind is full of weeds and thorns the likelihood of making sound decisions will diminish. Our thoughts become our reality, and it is our responsibility to control these thoughts so we can avoid the negative environments that cheat us from being fruitful, creative, and satisfied. Paul gives us good advice on how to accomplish this goal in Philippians 4:11-13 which reads, “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul endures a lot but was able to live a life of fulfillment.