It’s Always Planting Season
It’s that time of year, isn’t it? It’s Spring! That means it’s planting season. As soon as the weather warms up, we all want to get outside and put some seeds in the ground. Since our vegetable gardening days are over, I want to go to a nursery and pick out some beautiful flowering plants and put them in our yard so as they grow, they become a focal point in our landscape.
Now we all know that for plants to thrive, the conditions have to be just right. The temperature has to be warm, the sun has to be shining, the soil has to be prepared, and the seeds or plants have to be planted in the right spot, at the right depth, and watered as needed.
Planting season takes a lot of effort – if you are planting a vegetable or flower garden.
But there’s a word in my title today that doesn’t fit with that kind of gardening. It’s the word “always.” You see, it should always be planting season for Christians, and that takes effort, too.
In Matthew 13 we have one of my favorite parables that Jesus told – the parable of the sower. I love it for its clarity and message, but I also love the fact that later in that chapter (verses 18-23) He goes on to explain what the parable meant. I especially love verse 8 and the explanation in verse 23. Verse 8 talks about “…seeds [that] fell on good soil and produced…” and verse 23 says, “…what was sown on good soil…is the one who hears the word and understands it.”
I work on it being planting season all year around. What I mean by that is when I come in contact with people in different settings, I try to plant some seeds. Those people come from all different walks of life – cashiers, young mothers, people standing in line at a store, people waiting for a prescription to be filled, the person doing your nails, someone cutting your hair, the waiter/waitress at a restaurant, etc. This list could go on and on. I don’t know their religious background or the condition of their heart, but I do know that they all need Jesus.
It really isn’t that hard to do. Here are just a few tips:
- Have a smile on your face and show kindness.
- Show some interest in what they are doing.
- Engage the person in conversation – most people will talk.
- If they engage you in conversation, listen – put down your phone and listen!
- Ask if they go to church anywhere. If not, here is an open door – invite them to visit your congregation. Talk about the positive aspects of this great group of people. If you have a card that gives the address and times of worship – give it to them!
- If the person is someone you have an appointment with regularly and isn’t a Christian, let your conversation be about religious things. If they mention something they do at their church which is not according to the Bible, ask in a quiet, kind voice why they do that. Be ready to give a Bible answer. Never argue!! Remember, you’re only planting seeds and the growth may take some time.
- Prepare yourself for the rocky soil (the one who listens and receives the word, but has no root and falls away), and the seeds planted among the thorns (those who let the worldly things choke out the word of God).
- Be prepared for those who look at you like you are crazy. Not everyone will listen and respond in some way. Not every heart is good, or ready to receive God’s word.
- A negative response does not relieve us of the responsibility to plant seeds. We must be daily planting seeds.
It’s always planting season!
“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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AUTHOR: Donna Faughn
