4 Lessons From the Parable of the Sower

Having been born in south Alabama, I remember vividly the Peanut Festival held yearly in Dothan, Alabama. Fall is a season of harvest of peanuts, but also of cotton. When the trucks rolled down the roads filled with cotton ready to be ginned, sometimes the roadsides were so white with cotton it looked as if it had snowed.  Homegrown crops harvested between September and November include leafy veggies like collards, kale, turnip greens, and mustard greens. Root veggies are also ready for harvest, including carrots, beets, radishes, and turnips. I can almost smell them cooking in my Granny’s kitchen.  Harvest is ready because the farmers or the backyard grower knew how to plant in fertile soil so that they yielded an abundant harvest.

As parents or writers, or just in our daily lives, as Jesus Followers we hope and pray our words don’t fall on infertile, weedy, or rocky ground. When we think of this, our minds go to the Parable of the Sower as found in Matthew 13:3-23. Here are four lessons to learn from this parable.

OUR WORDS ARE SEEDS

Have you ever stopped to contemplate that our words are seeds? We plant them in our children and in our readers. Especially when our children are n their formative years, and even into their adult years. Our boys are grown, but I still try my best to plant seeds within their hearts and minds. I know I wasn’t always the best at this when mine were littles. Do I have regrets? Of course. But God can redeem and restore those years just as He can restore what the locusts have eaten (Joel 2:25 ESV).

As writers, we have a responsibility to our readers to ensure that our words plant truth, goodness, and godly thoughts. We write and pray, trusting God that even the smallest of those seeds will take root in our children’s or a reader’s heart.

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GROWTH BELONGS TO GOD

I didn’t always ask God before I spoke to my children. But thankfully, we have the benefit of going to God and asking Him to use the words we said or may say for His glory and for the building up of our children. Then, we trust Him to water our words.

I know I and my writer friends pray over the words we write, whether our works are non-fiction or fiction. Our messages are based on biblical truths. And I believe that God places experiences and stories within our hearts. We write, then walk away and trust Him to use our words for His purposes and in His timing.

BE CONSISTENT IN PLANTING

One conversation with our children, one blog post, one book may not seem as if we’ve done enough. Over many years, subtle or straightforward messages sown in our children or in our readers  can lead to a good harvest. Speaking or writing with grace, truth, and love over time—consistently—is how to create lasting impact. Again, our job is to put forth the message, get out of the way, and let Holy Spirit take over.

GUARD WHAT YOU PLANT

As stated previously, I didn’t always use carefully chosen words when speaking to my children. As much as I loved them and wanted/want the best for them, there were, and still are, moments when I know words just come out of my mouth. We are all human, after all.  Ephesians 4:29a (ESV) says- Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up. 

When we take time to stop and pray about our words, we are far more careful in what we say or write. When we invite Holy Spirit to be a part of our conversations with our children, or to be present in our writing spaces, we can choose words that will nurture and uplift our children and/or our readers. And isn’t that the purpose of what we do, as parents and as writers? We pray, we speak or write (the sowing of God’s Word), we pray some more, and trust God – the Lord of the harvest.

Blessings, y’all!

One of my favorite hymns. We sang this frequently in our B’ham, AL church, IPC. Love the words!! Please listen and read the lyrics. It may be new to you, but it is worth knowing.