Friday, January 5, 2018

So, SOW

The Bible has a lot to say about sowing. We all know that you reap what you sow, but the parable of where to sow is less known. Jesus used this illustration: Matthew 13(NIV)

The Parable of the Sower 13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

We all sow something one way or another. Usually when Christians discuss sowing, we're talking about sowing our money. Other ways that we sow are by our actions; where do we spend our time, on whom we spend our time and what we say and do when we go about our daily lives.
I am going to expound upon the importance of the ground upon which we sow. When you sow your time upon your family you will reap rewards based upon the quality of that time as well as quantity. That goes for sowing your time at work as well even though it may not always seem so at the time.
Where you sow your money is going to make a difference in what you reap. I have to relate a personal experience. I have been a sower of money at churches for years and years in the forms of tithes and offerings. I experience the 30 and 60 returns and sometimes wondered why not the hundredfold returns? So I questioned my heart: did I give unworthily? Not that I knew of. Did I give wrongly in any way? Not that I knew of.
Then, one day, I went to a different church for the first time instead of one in which I had been a member for years. Truthfully, I tithed at that church before I ever walked in the doors of the church based upon the mission statement on the website at Rock City Church Corpus Christi. In a couple of days I reaped that hundredfold return and then some! I eagerly tithed from then on lol. One time, I still had my fingers on the keyboard just about to click to tithe online when my son burst in and told me, "I have a mattress for you." You see, my mattress was so worn that I had multiple blankets and covers on the springs that poked through and had to strategically avoid those areas. The mattress my son brought in from our church's store in which you can shop totally free, no money involved, was a hospital mattress that fit perfectly and gives me the best rest :). It was worth many times over what I am able to tithe.
The moral of my story is this: The ground upon which you sow your seed is important and very relevant toward what you will reap.

1 comment:

  1. Most importantly is the fact that this church honors the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit completely. It doesn't skip over Chapter 12 of I Corinthians as many seem to do.(If you don't know what that is I'll tell you what I always told my children: look it up).

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