With the discussion on trees the last couple of posts, it seemed pertinent to continue the thought with this week’s post.
In the parable of the sower, there is a lot of focus on the soil. The question, “Which soil are YOU?”, is often used to start the discusion – I’ve done that myself when discussing the topics embodied in the parable. But in doing so, I recently realized that I was skipping over an important part of the parable.
1 Corinthians 9:9-10 – Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness.
Did you catch that? The seed was provided by God. In other places, the metaphor of the seed is used. Jesus, for instance, said that if our faith was as tangible as a mustard seed, then were was no limit to what we could do for God.
This becomes important when we consider Grace. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul reminds us that Grace cannot be earned. It cannot be purchased. Our Grace, Paul explains, is accessed through Faith. In another letter, this one to the Romans we are told that if we believe so strongly that we confess that believe, then we are saved.
Paul isn’t saying that we HAVE to do something in order to get salvation. Remember, faith – believe – is the seed that gets planted, fed, and watered by the Holy Spirit through our evangelis (Paul, again, this time in his letter to Corinth).
In Acts 2, Luke says that the people listening to Peter “were pricked in their hearts.” THEY didn’t prick themselves, but WERE pricked by something outside of them. Most of us have an “ah-ha” moment when we realize we were lost and need God’s mercy and grace made available by Christ’s gift.
that’s the seed of the sower. We are handed the seed of faith by God, and our part is to be the soil that nurtures that seed to the end, producing the good fruit of a life lived for Him.
We don’t earn the gift of grace by believing. We receive access to this free gift of grace by faith, and that faith, like the seed of the sower, is a gift from God as well.
Something to think about this Monday…
Grace and peace,
Jim
Raging River Community Church 