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Prepare: Picture a harvest scene. What feelings does it evoke? Think about the kind of harvest that delights God.
Costly effort
Mark 1–3 shows Jesus on the move, passionately preaching, tirelessly teaching, compassionately healing (1:39), with his disciples faithfully tagging along. But the religious leaders were bitterly opposed to Jesus (3:6); his own family failed to understand (3:21); and although crowds came after Jesus (4:1), most had not become ‘insiders’ (v 10). Perhaps the disciples were wondering if all these costly, risky efforts were worthwhile.
Jesus relates the story of a sower (v 3) who sowed liberally, extravagantly, even wastefully; those who do the sums would realise that 75 per cent of those seeds were wasted (vs 4–7)! By modern standards, that farmer was a fool – but a faithful fool, since he never gave up on sowing.
Keep sowing
The New Bible Commentary notes that even a tenfold return was considered good in Palestine. The other 25 per cent of the seeds resulted in yields as high as a hundredfold (v 8)! Despite the apparent waste of seeds and effort, the end was an incomparably splendid harvest.
God does not seek efficiency experts, but faithfulness freaks! We are encouraged to keep sowing, faithfully, hopefully, because God promises: ‘So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire’ (Isaiah 55:11).
Respond: Let Paul’s exhortation discourage any discouragement: ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ (Galatians 6:9).
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-05-16
Costly effort
Mark 1–3 shows Jesus on the move, passionately preaching, tirelessly teaching, compassionately healing (1:39), with his disciples faithfully tagging along. But the religious leaders were bitterly opposed to Jesus (3:6); his own family failed to understand (3:21); and although crowds came after Jesus (4:1), most had not become ‘insiders’ (v 10). Perhaps the disciples were wondering if all these costly, risky efforts were worthwhile.
Jesus relates the story of a sower (v 3) who sowed liberally, extravagantly, even wastefully; those who do the sums would realise that 75 per cent of those seeds were wasted (vs 4–7)! By modern standards, that farmer was a fool – but a faithful fool, since he never gave up on sowing.
Keep sowing
The New Bible Commentary notes that even a tenfold return was considered good in Palestine. The other 25 per cent of the seeds resulted in yields as high as a hundredfold (v 8)! Despite the apparent waste of seeds and effort, the end was an incomparably splendid harvest.
God does not seek efficiency experts, but faithfulness freaks! We are encouraged to keep sowing, faithfully, hopefully, because God promises: ‘So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire’ (Isaiah 55:11).
Respond: Let Paul’s exhortation discourage any discouragement: ‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up’ (Galatians 6:9).
http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-05-16
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