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Although I don’t have a garden of my own, I appreciate produce others sell or share from their own garden. Homegrown fruits and vegetables are my ideas for a perfect meal. As a child, I would always help my father plant a garden. We’d pick out a variety of seeds, prepare the soil, and carefully plant each seed. I enjoyed planting; it was fun dropping the seeds into the earth and covering them with fresh soil. But, when it came time to weed and water, I dreaded going to the garden.
When I complained to my father about the weeding, he said it was even more imperative to take special care of the garden. He explained that many things could prevent a harvest if we did not properly care for the plants. He said that even though the work was tedious, it would all be worth it later in the season, and he was right. When the later months came, we had an abundance of produce to prepare and share with friends.
Parable of the Sower
During the harvest, I’m reminded of the Parable of the Sower. For those of you unfamiliar with this parable, it goes like this:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still, other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 13:3-9, NIV).
The Parable of the Sower reminds me of my own spiritual growth. What type of seeds am I sowing? Have I sowed good seeds of thought and kindness? Or am I allowing doubt and negativity to choke my possibility for growth? Just like we prepare a garden for its harvest, we must also prepare our hearts and minds. If we do not weed out the bad, seeds of temptation and destruction can quickly take control, stunting our spiritual growth. Although we might wish for nothing but positivity, we’re human and will inevitably struggle.
On days that are challenging or tempting, we must ask God to help us develop seeds of love, kindness, and compassion. Some days, the work might seem tedious and demanding, but we can experience a true, spiritual harvest with Christ by our side.
If you liked this, you might also like Pulling Weeds | What Does Reap What You Sow Mean?
Madeleine Lowe writes from Indiana.
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