He used to say it while planting bean seeds in his garden. During this lockdown anyone with a garden or even a window box seems to be planting and sowing like mad at the moment. Perhaps it is some collective memory of the, "dig for victory", campaign during the second world war, or an instinct which is deeply ingrained in each one of us.
The cultivation of plants was a major factor in how we developed as a civilisation. It was the means by which hunter-gathers were able to stay in one place for any length of time, without moving with the source of food. Once agriculture had developed, Towns and cities could develop and with that people could start to do other trades, rather than just spend the majority of the day looking for food.
It was thought until recently that agriculture developed 12,000 years ago, however a site has been discovered on the shore of the Sea of Galilee where there was evidence of experiments in cultivation nearly 23,000 years ago. It started in some hunter-gathers who were also fishermen and able to lead a more settled lifestyle. Perhaps a piece of earth had been cleared to store some grasses they had collected and someone observed that some of the seeds, which had fallen from the grasses had grown.
Soon the idea of sowing seed in an area of land, which had been cleared and cultivated developed. Someone with a bag of seed, walked slowly up and down, scattering seed in a regular way as he walked. The seed fell randomly on whatever the man or woman walked past.
Slowly the majority of people became distanced from all food production with people having very little idea of where or how food was produced. However the desire to produce food with our own hands which we can see grow and harvest is a very satisfying occupation especially in this time of lock down when there is very little else to do.
As I mentioned earlier there was a very long history of sowing in Palestine and Jesus used the image of the sower a number of times most famously the parable of the sower.
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark4:1-9 ESVUK
Jesus explains that the seed represents the word; basically the words of Jesus, now written down in the bible. The seed falls on various soils which represent the state of different people's hearts and how well the word in received. So this is suggesting that our character and way of life is influential in whether or not we become a Christian, so if salvation is the sovereign will of God then basically how we respond to the message must be shaped by Him. So not just in the moment of salvation but in a steady influence throughout our lives. However Jesus gives us the privilege of sowing the seed.
This weekend I have been on our church weekend for our Trinity Lewes men's group, not originally as planned at Bowles.conference centre , but virtually online. Our main speaker talked about sowing seeds how we get to scatter the seed sometimes in small ways but slowly and after a long time there may well be a harvest. Another image he used was of a game of golf. Each person is a golf club in the hands of Jesus every time we meet somebody as the golf club hits a ball we are bringing the ball nearer to the "hole" of trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. We are all different as are the golf clubs and each club is used in a different part of the field. No matter what our individual contribution we can all play our small part in the plans of the Saviour if we are prepared to put ourselves totally into His hands.
So happy sowing everybody and may we all reap a bountiful harvest.
As I mentioned earlier there was a very long history of sowing in Palestine and Jesus used the image of the sower a number of times most famously the parable of the sower.
Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Mark4:1-9 ESVUK
Jesus explains that the seed represents the word; basically the words of Jesus, now written down in the bible. The seed falls on various soils which represent the state of different people's hearts and how well the word in received. So this is suggesting that our character and way of life is influential in whether or not we become a Christian, so if salvation is the sovereign will of God then basically how we respond to the message must be shaped by Him. So not just in the moment of salvation but in a steady influence throughout our lives. However Jesus gives us the privilege of sowing the seed.
This weekend I have been on our church weekend for our Trinity Lewes men's group, not originally as planned at Bowles.conference centre , but virtually online. Our main speaker talked about sowing seeds how we get to scatter the seed sometimes in small ways but slowly and after a long time there may well be a harvest. Another image he used was of a game of golf. Each person is a golf club in the hands of Jesus every time we meet somebody as the golf club hits a ball we are bringing the ball nearer to the "hole" of trusting in Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. We are all different as are the golf clubs and each club is used in a different part of the field. No matter what our individual contribution we can all play our small part in the plans of the Saviour if we are prepared to put ourselves totally into His hands.
So happy sowing everybody and may we all reap a bountiful harvest.
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