Before the days of no-till farming, it seems that every year in mid to late May, about a week after Dad planted corn, he would round his family up and we'd go out and walk through the disked soil and watch dad take out his pocket knife.  He would kneel over one of the rows and would gently take the blade of the knife and scrape away about an inch or two of soil to expose the seed.  He was seeing if the seed was beginning to sprout.  He was anxious to see the acreage surrounding us change from the look of barrenness to rows of green.  He was anticipating the fruits of the countless hours sitting on a tractor to prepare the soil.  He was marveling at how one seed could produce several hundred kernels of grain.  He was seeing the goodness of God's blessings as He knelt down over the corn.

Growing up on the farm we witnessed the growing season and understood the impact that rain, hail, heat, tractor breakdowns, and cattle escaping from the feedlot could have on the corn field.  Dad could only do so much, after that he taught us that the rest was up to God.  He couldn't make it rain or regulate the air temperature.  As much as he tried to prevent mechanical breakdowns, even that couldn't be controlled.  And livestock, I learned throughout the years that they have minds of their own.  If the grass looks greener on the other side of the fence, they are going to do their very best to get over there and be in the midst of that environment.

Another task to aid in the hope of a bountiful harvest was cultivating the corn before it was knee high.  The cultivator yanked out any weeds that were growing between the rows, but it also benefited the corn plants by aerating them and conserving the moisture in the soil. 

Our Christian faith is very similar to the seeds my dad planted and nurtured in order to produce a harvest.  As workers in God's Kingdom, we have the task to plant and nurture the seed by using the skills we have been blessed with to help others grow in their Christian faith.  We plant seeds by sharing the Gospel message with those we know and with those we do not know and demonstrating to others what Christ's love means when it's living actively in our heart.  We nurture the faith as instruments of our Lord, having only one goal, to grow the Christian Church.  

And as each seed that dad planted in the fertile Missouri soil lost its outer membrane in order to sprout and grow, we also need to be willing to come out of our shell to build a relationship with others and earn that "right" to share the Good News with them.  Christ modeled the same approach as he took the time to converse with people, asked them their life story, and listened to their hurts.  He offered hope, peace, and life.  He offered an eternal reward.  He asks us to do the same.

You may not think that you have a green thumb or are even equipped to be a farmer, gardener, or cultivator to plant and nurture the seeds of faith.  But you are.  You haven't been asked to do anything that God hasn't equipped you for.   Please join me in being a seed planter, and then watch as God makes it grow.   

Enjoying the ride,