Parable of the Sower

I know that in the correct context the Parable of the Sower is concerned with the seed being the good news/gospel and the soil being how it’s being received by people however we experience a similar scenario which in a strange way illustrates how LifeXchange sometimes sees change happen. For those not familiar with the parable read Matthew 13.

The Parable of the Sower

1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “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. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear.”

In the beginning of the year LifeXchange was doing the usual catching up with everyone after the big Christmas and New Year’s period, chatting to some of the guys who have been missing in action for almost the entire 2011. Every time we see these guys we always receive nods and smiles when we paint a picture of a better life and future, a life of living out your potential, but most often this falls on ‘shallow soil or rocky places’ with little or no response.

This time out of the blue, a guy who we have relentlessly tried to connect with and continuously invite to join us, suddenly responded! He suddenly became enthusiastic and persistent about changing his future and became fully committed to everything LifeXchange had to offer! His energy and enthusiasm were infectious.

What had changed? It was the same conversation, the same message, but somewhere something else had changed! And that’s what made me reflect on the Parable of the Sower , I felt like we were experiencing a similar scenario to that story. Though our message is the same, the message is received differently depending on the condition of the soil and the person’s ability to receive the message. We cannot control the quality of the soil but we can continue to sow the seed in the hope that one day it falls on “good” soil, ready to let the seed take root, grow and reap fruit. My understanding is that God prepares the heart to receive this message and when we see the message falling on good soil we can know that God is already at work in that person’s life, we are just the sower!