The Sower

Paul and I had a free day in Scotland before a pastors’ and leaders’ healing retreat, and we visited ‘the Biblical Garden’ in Elgin. It opened in 1996, and was the creative inspiration of a horticulturist, called Donnie McBean.

I enjoyed the landscaping, the sculptures, and the flowers and the trees there. I was particularly impressed with a bronze statue of ‘the sower’, standing in a small patch of rocks in a large wild meadow. The hard surface of the bronze statue contrasted with the soft surface of green grass and small delicate yellow, wild flowers. A rather small notice on the fence proclaimed the words, ‘The Sower. Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side … Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: …And some fell among thorns … But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Matthew 13:3-8, 8-9: Luke 8:11.’

I wonder how other visitors respond to this sight. Maybe some barely give it a glance. Maybe others think about our Lord Jesus, who spoke these words. Maybe they find that Jesus is speaking a personal message to them. It was like that when Jesus spoke to the great crowd on day. Most of them had no idea what He was talking about, but a small handful of people, the disciples, questioned Him afterwards in private.

On one particular day, Jesus had told the crowd about a man going out to sow seeds. It seems that many of the man’s seeds were unsuccessful. They had fallen on the path where they were eaten by birds. They had fallen on rocky ground with no soil, where they were scorched by the sun. They had fallen among thorns and were choked. But some had been a great success, so much so that they had produced a harvest of grain. They reproduced themselves by as much as thirty per cent, sixty per cent or a hundred per cent.

‘And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God”’ (Luke 8:9-11).

So, what does it mean for me? Am I a sower of God’s word in this world? The world around us seems quite oblivious of God, except when faced with suffering. Then they have lots of questions, but may not know where to find any answers.

A friend told me how she was in the hairdresser’s and was asked about a suitable Bible passage for a wedding. She had made it known in her local community that she was a Christian. As she took this opportunity and used it to explain the good news of Jesus and salvation, it went quiet and she realised that everybody else in the shop was listening. She was proclaiming the Gospel to the world around her. She was a sower of God’s word.

If she ever met anyone who was interested in spiritual things, she would invite them to her group of Christian friends who prayed and studied the Bible together. Those who responded to her invitation were like the good soil which received the seeds and began to grow and bring forth a fruitful harvest.LizLiz