“He who has ears, let him hear.””
Matthew 13:9 ESV
Through the Bible: Matthew 13, Luke 8
In 1995, my wife and I went to Korea to lead a camp for missionary kids. It was the first time I had ever been around missionaries. When I heard their stories of faithful perseverence– day in, day out sharing the gospel wihout a lot of fruit, I started thinking about what gospel faithfulness looks like. The line, “God says to sow and so we sow it, but leave it up to God to grow it” popped into my head one morning while we were there, and the poem kind of grew backwards from there.
A certain sower went to sow Because he wanted seeds to grow And since he saw there was a need For seeds to grow, he scattered seed He gave no thought to where he’d throw The seeds he scattered, to and fro And if, or when, or how they’d grow This, the sower did not know. He simply saw there was a need For seeds to grow, and scattered seed. Some seed fell on stony soil And no amount of work or toil Could save that seed from beaks of birds It was gobbled up without a word. Some seed fell on shallow ground It grew up fast, but soon he found It had no roots; it could not last. It died and withered, just as fast. Some fell among a thorny patch It grew a bit, but here’s the catch: Also with the seed grew thorns And soon, the tiny shoots were torn And strangled, choked by weeds So nothing much came from that seed. Now, at this point, you might be saying ”What kept that silly sower staying? When most his seed has gone to waste, Another job might suit his taste. A milkman, maybe, or a lawn mower. ’Cause he’s a loser as a sower.” Yet never did it cross his mind That this was any waste of time. There never was a day he felt He should be doing something else. He simply saw there was a need For seeds to grow, and scattered seed. And some seed fell on fertile earth And roots sank deep in healthy dirt. And with a little sun, and a little rain, And no birds to come and steal the grain And with a little of the Sower’s care, Soon, some seedlings sprouted there! And soon the seedlings sprouted shoots, And then, they started bearing fruit. And with the fruit from those few trees He filled a hundred bags with seed. Then, shouldering his bags, he went Off to scatter seeds again. Never knowing where he’d throw The seeds he scattered, to and fro And if, or when, or how they grow, He does not care, he simply knows God says to sow, and so we sow it And leave it up to God to grow it. For sowers always see the need And keep on, keep on sowing seed.
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