722AFC060107
The season of Lent is a time for reflection and preparation, a time for renewal. This morning I was thinking about seeds, and what happens when we plant them. Whenever you plant a seed in the ground to engender new life, the soil has to be broken twice. Once to put the seed in, and again as the new leaves break through. The first is done by the planter while the seed is inert. The second is done by the new growth as the dormant life within the seed responds to a change in environment — out of the dry sack of seeds and into the earth. Both of these things require that some ‘work’ be done. The planter makes the soil ready and sows the seed; the seed collects and uses the energy of the sun and surrounding soil to grow.
I’m not going to push the analogy any further, because I know that you know the same thing happens in our interior lives. The seeds that are planted have to go through two ground-breaking events before their potential for new life can begin. After that there are a lot of changes that happen before we finally see the outcome of that process: The fruit of those labors. Sometimes the seeds that are sown in our interior lives are seeds we ourselves plant. Sometimes there are seeds planted that come from others. Sometimes the fruits of those plantings are good; sometimes they’re not.
Sowing the seeds of weeds is something most of us would not do intentionally, or would we? When we knowingly use seed that is known to produce useless or even dangerous fruit, we’re sowing weeds. Sure, we all know the Bible verse about “You reap what you sow,” but we don’t always remember that this popular adage is true whether we believe it or not, whether we remember it or not.
When I think of my own sowing and reaping, I can easily remember the weeds I have cultivated over the years. The time and care I spent on ensuring their survival detracted from the nurturing I should have been giving to other plantings. What really alarms me though is that I have been enthusiastically careless about sowing “the tares among the wheat” not only in my own life, but in the lives of others as well. If that has been the case in your life, and it may well be, I hope you have, or will, forgive me.
You go ahead and take it from here. I’ll just close with this: It is my fervent hope that whatever seeds I have sown in YOUR life have yielded useful fruits, and as for the seeds that were weeds, I’m betting you had better sense than to cultivate them.
Holy week is just a couple of days away. My prayer for you during that season will be that the produce of your life be good and useful fruit.
2 Corinthians 9:9-11 (New International Version)
9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through this your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Aloha, my friends
chick
722AFC060107
The season of Lent is a time for reflection and preparation, a time for renewal. This morning I was thinking about seeds, and what happens when we plant them. Whenever you plant a seed in the ground to engender new life, the soil has to be broken twice. Once to put the seed in, and again as the new leaves break through. The first is done by the planter while the seed is inert. The second is done by the new growth as the dormant life within the seed responds to a change in environment — out of the dry sack of seeds and into the earth. Both of these things require that some ‘work’ be done. The planter makes the soil ready and sows the seed; the seed collects and uses the energy of the sun and surrounding soil to grow.
I’m not going to push the analogy any further, because I know that you know the same thing happens in our interior lives. The seeds that are planted have to go through two ground-breaking events before their potential for new life can begin. After that there are a lot of changes that happen before we finally see the outcome of that process: The fruit of those labors. Sometimes the seeds that are sown in our interior lives are seeds we ourselves plant. Sometimes there are seeds planted that come from others. Sometimes the fruits of those plantings are good; sometimes they’re not.
Sowing the seeds of weeds is something most of us would not do intentionally, or would we? When we knowingly use seed that is known to produce useless or even dangerous fruit, we’re sowing weeds. Sure, we all know the Bible verse about “You reap what you sow,” but we don’t always remember that this popular adage is true whether we believe it or not, whether we remember it or not.
When I think of my own sowing and reaping, I can easily remember the weeds I have cultivated over the years. The time and care I spent on ensuring their survival detracted from the nurturing I should have been giving to other plantings. What really alarms me though is that I have been enthusiastically careless about sowing “the tares among the wheat” not only in my own life, but in the lives of others as well. If that has been the case in your life, and it may well be, I hope you have, or will, forgive me.
You go ahead and take it from here. I’ll just close with this: It is my fervent hope that whatever seeds I have sown in YOUR life have yielded useful fruits, and as for the seeds that were weeds, I’m betting you had better sense than to cultivate them.
Holy week is just a couple of days away. My prayer for you during that season will be that the produce of your life be good and useful fruit.
2 Corinthians 9:9-11 (New International Version)
9 As it is written: “He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through this your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.
Aloha, my friends
chick
About Chick Todd
American Roman Catholic reared as a "Baptiterian" in Denver Colorado. Now living on Kauaʻi. USAF Vet. Married for over 50 years. Scripture study has been my passion ever since my first "Bible talk" at age 6 in VBS.
