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There is a ruggedized form of ministry that closely follows in the footsteps of Jesus. It operates in a way that is both informed by, and stems from, the Parable of the Sower. It serves to soften any compacted soil and it labors to break-up any rocky soil that might prevent seedlings from gaining a foothold. It engages in this necessary soil conditioning so that each individual seed, packed with all the potential God saw fit to include, can be planted at the proper depth and at the proper time. Let’s revisit this particular teaching, how the lessons gracefully transcend time, and how they inform our respective ministries going forward. Jesus put it this way:
“A sower went forth to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside to be trampled underfoot and consumed by birds. Other seed fell upon the rocky places where there was little soil. It sprang up quickly because there was no depth to the soil. As soon as it was warmed by the sun, it withered because it had no root as a means to secure moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns, and as the thorns grew up, it was choked so that it yielded no grain. Still other seed fell upon good ground and, while growing, yielded, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold. The kingdom of heaven is also like a man who cast good seed upon the earth; and while he slept by night and went about his business during the day, the seed sprang up and grew. Although the Sower didn’t know just how it came about, the plant came to fruit. First there was the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And then when the grain was ripe, he put forth the sickle, and the harvest was finished.” — The Parable of the Sower as Told by Jesus.
While scattered seed that fell by the wayside may be trampled, this is not the only statement on record where Jesus referred to things of value being “trampled.” In the context of his lesson regarding the folly of casting one’s pearls before swine, he led by example when he refused to dignify the feigned curiosity of Herod whose questions were intended as a mockery rather than a sincere search for truth.
The Gospel is not to be thrust upon those who despise it. The incurious, the insincere, and the insolent are often found wandering aimlessly along the wayside. Those who are self-satisfied, not ready to reach for truth, too busy to grow spiritually, or whose hearts have become too calloused, may represent a soil too compacted to receive precious truth-bearing seed or a soul too distracted to enjoy seed bearing fruit. They may miss opportunities, but God wastes nothing.
If we are somehow reluctant to consume that which truly nourishes, the sparrows are not. Another way of looking at this is in the way birds may also play a role in scattering consumed, but undigested, seed. While those who are religiously atheist might look at Charles Darwin’s writings and his observations on the Galapagos Islands and conclude that such research is “proof” that evolution is happenstance, a person of faith is likely to reach entirely different conclusions from the same data.
We might see the same variety of birds, including one with a beak capable of crushing nuts and seeds to obtain nourishment. Then we see another bird with a beak so long and slender it can extract nectar from a delicate flower without crushing it. While the atheist would look upon this microcosm as random chance involving a collection of disparate elements, the believer beholds such beauty as yet another inspiring example of God’s handiwork.
Such an ingenious system of specialized and precisely targeted distribution, for an island’s limited food supply, is evidence of mind. The atheist sees the universe as the juxtaposition of random fortuitous events where somehow magic matter organized through mindless causation. The person of faith sees orchestration, by an ingenious composer and conductor, within a universe of universes responding to evolutionary over-control. Evolution is, after all, simply an unfolding, creativity that occurs over time.
Some must hold that science and religion are mutually exclusive in order to maintain an incoherent world view. This reflects a lack of understanding with respect to a trifurcation that took place during the enlightenment; For science is to facts, what philosophy is to meanings, and what religion is to values.
The Parable of the Sower highlights the fact that seed falling by the wayside is not likely to take root. That means both the seed and the labor are more likely to be wasted. The story of the sower highlights a very familiar process in a way that is factual as well as meaningful.
This particular story, as told by Jesus, presents the facts and meanings through a parable, a teaching style and technique also known as a parabolic analogy. He did this so that those of us “with ears to hear,” would find it not only factual and meaningful, but also valuable.