Oh, how I wish my Grandfather was here. He was amazing. As a child, I remember watching him eat an apple or a piece of watermelon, spit the seeds into a cup, put the cup in the basement and the next Spring he would be planting a new fruit tree or vine. He could grow anything. I miss him, especially on week's like this one. I spent the week doing those 'honey do's' that I have let build up all winter. The past two days have been spent sowing grass seed in my yard. Sounds easy right? Maybe for you, but I didn't inherit my Grandfather's green thumb. You see, the truth is I planted grass seed in this same yard last year and it didn't grow any grass. So, here we go again.
But I got a good feeling down in my gut that this year is going to be different. Why? Because this year I did what I did not do last year, I Did Research! And I learned that I left out a very important ingredient last year, FERTILIZER. Who knew? O.K. maybe you did, but remember, I'm not good at this sort of thing. So this year, I waited till right before a rain, sowed the grass seed, fertilized it and even laid down straw. This year will be different, I can feel it. Soon, I will be gazing at my yard and looking at new, green blades of grass growing where there was once bear spots. Oh man, that's exciting! Well, maybe not that exciting, but it does feel good.
As I finished sowing the seed, I began thinking on a subject that really does get me excited, and not me only, but I believe excites all of Heaven. That is sowing the Good News of Jesus in the hearts of those who are Far from God. Jesus said in Matthew 13 that when we share His message with others, we are like a man sowing seed. But is spreading the message all that we need to do? When we are sowing the Word of God in people's lives, do we not also need to "Fertilize" the seed? I think so.
What is the fertilizer for the soul? To begin with, I belive it is to apply the "Love" of Jesus as we sow the Word. There's a saying, "People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." People can pick-up on us when we are fake. They know if we are sharing the message of Christ with them because we geniunely care for their soul, or if we are simply trying to fill our quota.
I believe we should fertilize the message with a "Holy Walk" too. Have you ever had someone who is far from God tell you that they are O.K. with God because they live just as good, if not better, than the people in the Church? People are watching us. They are watching us even when we don't think so. They are watching to see if our "walk" backs up our "testimony." Our lifestyle either supports our message or it tears it down.
One more. I believe we should fertilize the seed with "Hope." The unchurched are dealing with the same issues that we in the church are. They are concerned as to what is going to happen with the economy, about the rising cost of Health care, about cancer, about what kind of world their children and grandchildren are going to grow up in. The difference should come in how Christians handle these concerns. As believers, we know that God has the final word, that He is in control. That knowledge should give us a sense of peace and hope. Those far from God need to see that we still have hope as we share the Gospel with them.
We are coming up on Easter, the greatest time of the year for you and I to spread the "seed" the message of Jesus in the hearts of others, but as you go sowing, don't forget to apply the fertilizer.
God Bless,
