Matthew 13:1–9 (NIV): That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
This week being in Minneapolis and visiting a lot of friends and remembering our time here, I am left with this passage of Scripture. I am challenged because I have to ask if I truly believe something I’ve read and affirmed all these years? Do I live with this reality that when it comes to the gospel, the results are not up to me? And, when the gospel comes to me, am I receiving it with a cultivated heart?
At the end of this trip, while I am challenged by this passage, I am also comforted.
Thanks be to God.
Apprentice 2 Jesus 