Is God not the grand architect of all time? Just look at the magnificent mountains, majestic trees, and gorgeous flowers, down to the smallest of architectural sights on the ground like the sweet gum seed pod.
There are hundreds, maybe thousands on the ground around the pond. I’ve since learned they are also called monkey balls, ankle biters and ankle twisters. They are round, prickly little balls that hold seeds that eventually are dispersed and new trees will grow.
This makes me ponder over how we believers are told to spread the seed (God’s Word). We are the sowers, not the growers. We sow the seed and God will do the work on the hearts of all people. So why do we seldom do this? I’ll speak from experience.
Fear. Fear of rejection, fear of inadequacy, fear of being made fun of. As I’ve grown older and hopefully matured, I realized if there is rejection, it is not against me, it is against God. That takes the pressure off of me. God can handle it! If you put the fear of inadequacy in the Lord’s hands, He will help you by bringing scriptures and other words to your mind. The Holy Spirit can speak through you. And you always have your own testimony to share. Remember, it’s not our job to change a heart, that is the Lord’s job. We are just to sow the seed. And if people make fun of you, don’t feel bad for having your relationship with Christ. Feel pity for the one laughing and pray for them. If they end up going to their eternal home laughing, they will soon realize what you shared with them was the truth but it will be too late for them by then and they won’t be laughing any more. It is not a laughing matter! Remember the grace and mercy you were shown and pray that person will receive it one day before it is too late.
It is a privilege to be a seed sower. You know how when something grand, exciting happens to you? You want to go tell someone, you want to share the news. Nothing more grand could happen to us then realizing Christ loved us so much he was willing to crawl upon that cross and die for us, to pay for OUR sins. He loves you that much. Is that now worth sharing with others and telling them the same thing happened for them? All they have to do is just accept it, as the wonderful gift it is.
A few years back, some people entered my life that I did not care for much. I would have just as soon not met them. They only caused anger and confusion and I just wanted them to go away, but I soon realized they were not going anywhere, for at least awhile. I felt like a prickly, hard person around them. God told me to share, to sow love with His love. I was not excited about sharing anything with these people. So I prayed for myself to do what God had asked of me and with the right heart. I shared, I brought them to church, I invited them into my home. His amazing love, how can it be? I started to feel compassion and my heart went out to them. The anger left. After a couple of years, these people were removed from my life, and to be honest, it was just fine with me. But I learned a lesson through this. Jesus died for ALL people and they all deserve a chance to hear the truth and at least make a decision to change or not. These people did not change, but you never know what act of kindness you did for them or a nugget of truth that was spoken embeds in the back of their mind that might someday come to the front of their mind and make a difference. I don’t believe God brought these people into my life for this reason, but He used a bad situation to teach me something. I learned not to sit on my anger, that it is possible and necessary for your own sake to give that up and replace it with love. I've always been a person full of compassion and love but had not had to deal with hard people. I learned that with God, I can have compassion and give love, and share with the hardest of people now.
Just remember, we may be seed sowers, but we do not need to be like the sweet gum pods, prickly and hard. We are to sow in love. We do not want to be considered ankle biters, but one who came in love to share the greatest love story out there. And just as the seed is dispersed from the sweet gum ball and new trees begin to grow, prayerfully, when we sow the seed of the gift of salvation and with the work of the Lord, we will see more and more believers born and growing. And just as I see the tall sweet gum trees around the pond, I know I will see strong Christian people in Heaven…maybe sitting around a pond with me, sharing stories.
“The sower sows the Word…”
Mark 4:14
No comments:
Post a Comment