Unexpected Fertile Soil

Exodus 2:11-22; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

About a century ago a famous English botanist discovered that buried in the English soil are tropical seeds of almost limitless variety, brought there by migrant birds. Having discovered these seeds, the English botanist ventured the theory that the seeds lie dormant, waiting for a tropical climate to bring forth their lovely blossoms.

Jesus knew that people are very much like soil. As can be seen in our reading of Jesus' parable of the seed, ideas, like seeds in fertile ground, can be planted in people, as well.

My brother has an acreage over near the town of Lennon. When he first moved into the place he decided not to rent the field out back to grow crops on it, as had been done in years past. Rather, he decided that he would like to grow trees, wild flowers, various types of grasses, alfalfa, and other prairie plants. Now, despite the fact that he went out and planted bags and bags of good seeds on this land, there were still a whole lot of thistle plants and other noxious weeds that came up. In fact, for a while, it looked like there were more thistles than anything else. But, I went out there the other day and noticed that, indeed, the good seeds and taken over. The alfalfa was thick, the sun flowers were coming up, and the different grasses were waving back and forth. The thistles were still there, but they were last year's plants. And, in fact, the good plants were so thick that the thistles were unable to find the soil, unable to germinate.

In a way, the way my brother's field came out is an echo of life. And I can't help but think that children are one of the best examples of this. For, if there is any soil that is more open and ready for seeds to be planted, it is the child. Someone once said that by the time a child has reached the age of five he or she has already learned 80% of what he or she will learn in his or her lifetime, most of this learning being done by imitation. And, often a child can be profoundly affected by things that we do which may not seem like anything to us. The seeds which we plant, whether good or bad, can take root and grow in a young person, often without our realizing that we were the ones who offered the seed.

What a responsibility this is! In our own day, despite the best intentions of parents, it is almost impossible to sift out the bad seeds so that only the good ones get to our children. Even the Saturday morning cartoons on T.V. are festered with the bad seeds of everything from violence to the occult. In fact, there's now one Saturday morning cartoon which is scheduled to take on an adult flavor within the next few weeks.

The other day I was sitting in my living room reading the newspaper and two boys, about eight years old, were walking up the sidewalk in front of our house, talking together. I couldn't help but notice that their conversation was punctuated with some of the worst four letter words I know. So, despite what parents may try to do to keep those bad weeds out, our young people may be just as negatively affected by the kids they play with or go to school with. The bad seeds are all over the place.

So, the question is, "What can be done to counteract the bad seeds around us?" And perhaps the answer to that question lies in our ability to plant good seeds, and as many as we possibly can. Like my brother's field, perhaps the abundance of our good ideas and good deeds can outweigh the affect of the bad in such a way that when the good ideas bear fruit their quantity will be so great and so abundant that there will simply be no way for the bad to multiply.

In this regard, I would like to look at our church as being like a greenhouse where people spend much of their time planting good seeds, watering little plants, and cultivating the soil. In just a couple of weeks, for example, our church will be having a vacation bible school. And I just know that our bible school needs your help so that volumes and multitudes of good seeds can be planted into the fertile soil of young minds.

And it won't be long before our church resumes it's youth Sunday School program. And the children's choir will begin practicing, once again. And the United Methodist Youth Fellowship will begin to meet. And the question is, "How will each of us be involved in supporting those programs so that we can make sure that there is an abundance, a multitude, of good seed, good ideas, good deeds, good examples, for our children to take to heart?" How important it is for us to take advantage of the time we have with those who are as receptive as young people are! I'm sure that God is calling each one of us to do what we can.

But, of course, children aren't the only ones with minds as receptive to new ideas as fertile soil is receptive to the growth of seeds. Indeed, many of us know adults who have the ability to take new ideas and develop them and use them in marvelous ways. Of course, not all adults are this way. Unfortunately there are many who get set in their ways. But the fortunate person is the one who is able to change and grow and see value in something different or new that may come along.

There's the story of Murray Spangler, a department store janitor in Canton, Ohio. Mr. Spangler was developing an allergy to dust and the sweeping he had to do made him wheeze and cough. While many persons would have quit their job, Mr. Spangler set out to find a better way to clean floors. "Why not eliminate the broom?" he wondered. . ."maybe something that can suck up dust?"

Mr. Spangler took his idea and invented a crude but workable vacuum cleaner. Taking his invention to several bankers, all of them scoffed at the very idea of a machine that could suck up dirt. Nevertheless, Spangler didn't give up. Taking his idea to an old friend of his family in the leather business, he found a listening ear and a man who was willing to finance the invention. The friend's name was Herbert W. Hoover.

Mr. Hoover took the risk because he was open to possibilities. He was open to new ideas. His mind was as receptive as fertile soil.

How receptive are we to God? I believe that God is revealing himself to us at all times. But the question is, "Are we listening?" Are we able to hear the word of God speaking to us through the noise of our soul? Are we receptive to the possibility that there may be something new that God wants to reveal to us?

Unfortunately, there are those who erroneously believe that there is nothing left worth taking the time to learn about the Christian faith. So, they either turn their backs upon opportunities for Christian education or simply attend classes which only reiterate what they may already know. But, I'll have to admit that the more I learn about being a Christian and about the Christian faith, the more I realize how much more there is for me to learn! And with all of the things going on in this world, good and bad, it is important that we continue to cultivate our souls in such a way that God's new seeds are continually being planted and allowed to grow.

I am reminded of a story about Thomas A. Edison, the great inventor, who was talking one day with the governor of North Carolina. As they were talking the governor complimented him on his inventive genius.

But Edison replied, "Oh, I'm not really a great inventor."

At this the governor retorted, "But you have over a thousand patents to your credit, haven't you?"

"Yes," answered Edison, "but about the only invention I can really claim as absolutely original is the phonograph."

When the governor asked him to elaborate on this, Edison replied, "Well, I guess I'm an awfully good sponge. I absorb ideas from every source I can, and put them to practical use. Then I improve them until they become of some value. The ideas which I use are mostly the ideas of other people who don't develop them themselves."

God has so much he would like to give us. But, will we be receptive to his word? For as God's word takes root in our heart the crop which is produced is nothing other than the fruit of the Spirit and eternal life.

God speaks to us in many ways: Through our reading of the bible, through prayer, through worship, throughout our life's experience, we can hear him speaking to us. Let us be that fertile soil. Amen.