A Good Seed

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: 5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. 6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” -Luke 8:4-11

What kind of seed am I? I know what I desire to be but I must ask what kind of seed am I? As I ponder this question I must be honest with myself and says it depends. It depends upon whether I am at my best or not.

I am not dead so my faith and my praxis have not been choked out. I still have life, and no matter how dark and depressed I have felt, I was able to summon enough hope and faith and belief so as to not to give up.

There have been times when I was in places where there was no nourishment. There have been experiences where I felt that people were trying to trample on my faith, and it seemed as if some were trying to stamp it out. It was at those times I had to call up my spiritual reserve and remember my grounding.

It was at that time that I had to trust in the lord and lean not to my understanding. It was at the time that clichés ‘that I had spoken rose to the occasion and motivated me to continue. Clichés’ like “He never puts on you, more than you can bear”, “He didn’t bring you this far to leave you. “and ‘That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The toughest one was that “I am not to become bitter but better.”

I am grateful that God infused within me the ability to move forward to tie a knot in my faith as I searched for nourishment. I am grateful for the ways in which God nourishes. I am grateful that belief, faith and perseverance did not allow my faith to be choked out.

This passage helps me to understand that that in your faith life you will be confronted with difficulties that can break and kill you, or strengthen and propel you toward your purpose. I choose the latter and I count upon the guidance of the Holy Spirit as I take responsibility for my faithfulness as I remember that God is faithful to those who are faithful to God by completing the assignments which God has given. I may give up on certain people and institutions but I will never give up on God. God’s community are those who are called out and together to produce and facilitate good fruit.

In striving to be the seed that produces good produce, I may be bumped and bruised, misunderstood and shunned, shielded and healed, received and celebrated, happy or sad. However, most of all I need to be faithful and self assured that the path that I am on is ordained, purposeful, commissioned and blessed, in this moment and in the moments to come.

As I celebrate the victory of faith, hope, belief and life and seek to be the good seed to bless and be blessed more than a hundred-fold, my prayer is for God to preserve my noble and good heart, and allow me to continue to hear the word, retain it, and preserve it as evidenced in a good crop. In this way I can cultivate the God in me and by my mere presence help to cultivate the God in you.

Namaste’

Yours truly,
Rev. Dr. Gary A. Williams