Scatter

 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

— Mark 4:26-29

Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King,

In this Parable of the Growing Seed, I see myself twice. First, as the man scattering seed on the ground. What stands out to me is that the Kingdom of God is like scattering seed. Why isn't it like the gardening I do where I carefully plant seeds one by one in neat rows precisely one inch below the surface? It's scattering. Scattering sounds messy. Scattering seems to lack precision. Scattering doesn't appear effective. I think the answer lies in the next part. Because I also see myself in the soil. The soil has to be right to receive the seed. The Parable of the Soils (or Parable of the Sower) precedes this passage (Mark 4:1-20) and when scattered seed lands on good soil, it takes root and grows.

When I scatter seed, I am partnering with God and allowing the real work to be left up to Him. I cannot see this process nor fully understand it (vs. 27).  The secret of growth is in the seed. The condition of the soil, the weather, and the cultivation all help, but the seed spontaneously works according to its own nature—it is built into the seed. The seed is the Word of God. So I scatter it. And how it works in the lives of those who hear it is hidden and mysterious. For me, I want my heart to be good soil, where the Word of God will take root and grow. And as a preacher of God's Word, as one commentator puts it, "the only thing a preacher has to give to the Word is a voice. Like a seed, the Word of God has a hidden and mysterious power."

Gracious Lord, may I first be one whose heart is soft and fertile and ready to receive Your Word where it will take root and grow and produce a harvest. Second, may I be a preacher who scatters Your Word wherever You direct. May I be generous with great, big handfuls of seed and throw them far and wide. I will trust You to cause these seeds to grow. I'll surrender my desire for neat, tidy, precise for Your desire to see Your Word scattered far and wide.

— In Jesus' Name I pray, Amen!

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