The sower in Mark 4: A very different kind of farmer...

Normally farmers take great care to make sure they know what kind of soil they’re putting their seed in. They’ll think about what crops were in the year before, how much the soil has been worked, and what nutrients may or may not be present. They’ll do everything they can to makes sure they’re investing in fruitful ground, so they can get the maximum yield out of their seed. These days with modern technology, things can get really precise. Based on GPS signals and various soil samples, machines can automatically adjust the amount of seed sown depending on the quality of the soil in any given location.

But the sower in Mark 4 is a very different kind of farmer. He’s not worried about efficiency, return on his seed, or carefully analyzing the land and his seeding. He just throws the seed out there, and it lands in all kinds of different places. And there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with that.

We should probably be more focused on throwing seed out there like the farmer in Mark 4, and not be so concerned about painstakingly analyzing and trying to find the perfect soil. Because, after all, this is not the kind of farming that we can figure out and optimize using GPS signals and soil samples. It’s a spiritual work of faith, sowing seeds into human hearts, and any sprouting is a miracle of God.

I’m skeptical of any teaching that says we need to find the perfect soil, or work to prepare the soil, and only then sow the seed. Who said we had to do that? And is that even possible?? Just tell people, all kinds of different people, about Jesus. Scatter your seed all over. You may be very, very surprised to see which seeds actually sprout, grow, and bear fruit.