Have you ever read Jesus' parable of the sower and pictured people as sowers - on stony ground, under the withering sun, among thorns, and in good soil? When we look at Jesus' explanation of the parable and think about it, we realize God has given us the seed. With the seed, the Bible, the Word, come the sowers. We sisters in Christ are among those sowers who are teaching and planting the gospel (Mark 16:15 and Titus 2:3-5). Maybe we know someone by the wayside where the seed is being sown, but, before they can be nourished and grow, the prey of evilness picks and pecks until there is nothing left to be nourished. Are some on stony ground, so glad for the seed only to find there is no depth for growth? They accept the seed but quickly find the scorching heat of sin causes them to wither away. Perhaps others are among thorns. They receive the seed, but, to them, there are more important things to do than grow; so thorns choke out even the tiniest seed that tries to take root. Now we come to the part of Jesus' parable that speaks of the good soil, and that is where a faithful Christian becomes a sower.

As a sower we look toward a harvest. The farmer isn't going to put seeds in the ground and forget about them. If he does, then he certainly won't have anything come harvest time. He has to tend his crop, and that's where this article is leading. Sow the seed, tend the crop, and gather the harvest! A farmer has to labor. As a sower of God's seed, we must do the same. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58 . All of our labor and efforts will never be wasted because James tells us that, when we convert the sinner, we shall save a soul (James 5:20). "In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death." Proverbs 12:28. Also, Proverbs 11:30, "The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise."

By tending what we have sown in good soil (2 Timothy 2:15 and 1 Peter 3:15), there will be an abundant harvest. Then the words Paul wrote to the Galatian brethren can be said of us, "... for in due season we shall reap if we faint not." Galatians 6:9b.

My hope is that all of my Christian sisters who read this article are sowers. As we often sing, "Into our hands the gospel is given, into our hands is given the light; haste, let us carry God's precious message, guiding the erring back to the right." Let's continue to labor and work together knowing that our efforts will be realized when the final harvest is gathered! "For the harvest time is coming on, and the reapers' work will soon be done; will your sheaves be many? Will you garner any, for the gathering at the harvest home?" -Route 2 Box 177, Belington, WV 26250 mrmrsl@meer.net

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