Luke 8:11-15
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those
along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away
the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those
on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear
it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing
they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear,
but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and
pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for
those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by
persevering produce a crop."
Zinnias brighten any day.
My daughter and I sat on her porch and observed the fading
zinnias. A few pink, orange, and yellow flowers hung on, as petals fell away and left seed heads. While we chatted, she popped
one of the heads off the stem and rubbed the nubs between her fingers. Before
long, her hand filled with little gray, spear shaped seeds. For about twenty
minutes, we harvested seeds from the dried heads. Now she has a bag full to
spread in her garden next year. I'm excited to see if they germinate, grow, and
produce a beautiful rainbow.
In Luke 8, Jesus shared the parable of the farmer who
planted seeds. Some fell on a path where they were trampled, some on rocky
ground where the roots didn't grow, some among thorns which choked them out,
and others on good fertile soil. I've planted zinnia seeds in my flower bed,
and they didn't produce one seedling. I don't know if the birds ate the seeds,
or they didn't germinate and root. I plan to try again next year. My daughter
has good soil to plant her zinnias. They tend to grow taller than they are
supposed to.
Jesus wants His followers to continue to spread the seed of His
word and encourage people to get to know Him. He wants me to share his truths,
regardless of where the seeds fall. Rather than be discouraged by poor soil, I
want to continue to spread the good news about Jesus and pray hearts are
prepared to hear from Him.
He loves every person and wants a relationship with all of
his sheep. As the farmer continued to sow the seed, so will I.
Prepare your heart like the good soil and persevere to grow
an abundant crop.