“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Mark 4:3-8 (NIV)
I had the opportunity to attend my 35-year high school reunion with Brenda this weekend. As I anticipated the event, I suspected it would wind up setting the tone for an Encouraging Word. I was right, but not quite in the way I expected.
I made friends in high school, but I wasn’t in the cool crowd. My fiend Robin once said about us, “We weren’t the nerds, but we could feel their pain.” My corollary to that was “we were nerds who went to the games and occasionally dated.” As a result, when I attend my 10th and 15th year reunions, I stuck very closely to friends who also fit that description and didn’t mingle a lot for fear of rejection (or re-rejection).
I’ve grown a lot over the years and went into the 35th with a different approach. I’ve learned how to “work a room” and wanted to reach out to as many of my former classmates as possible. Having already connected with some of them on Facebook made that approach much easier, even though I hadn’t seen most of them since graduation—we have lived roughly 2/3 of our lives since then! I was also immensely more comfortable in my own skin that I’ve ever been, and having my beautiful wife at my side and a good answer to “so, what are you doing these days?” definitely helped that.
Even with all of that going in, I was stunned by how the evening played out.
People who I didn’t think would remember me not only did but seemed genuinely excited to see me! Even more significant to me, I was asked to lead everyone in a blessing before the meal! If that’s what I’m known for, then more of the seeds I’ve been sowing the last few years have borne fruit than I ever imagined!
This was a powerful lesson for me, and was further reinforced during the evening as people complimented me for the prayer.
People pay more attention to us than we think. We are sowing seeds into other people’s lives every single day.
That hug and word of encouragement we might quickly give someone could stick with them a long time—it could be just the right word at the time they needed it the most.
If we talk the talk of faith but don’t walk it out in our everyday lives, people see that and remember it. The words we say in faith have to have a foundation built upon how we live—people can sniff out a hypocrite at a thousand paces.
Conversely, when we endure loss, hardship, or other stressors, people are observing how we do so. If we do it in a positive way where we are holding on firmly to God’s word and the Holy Spirit, more people than we imagine are seeing that.
A wonderful example of this is my friend Karen, who has dealt with loss of hearing for most of her life. She recently received an ear implant that has given her 90% hearing in one ear, and by her own admission you couldn’t shut her up at the reunion! She was so joyful with this miracle and happily telling everyone her story of faith and praising the Lord for making it happen and thanking those who have been holding her up in prayer.
I’m sure I wasn’t the only one paying attention. Maybe someone’s life was changed last night by hearing her story. We many never know, but that’s not part of the deal. God tells us in Mark 4 that we are to sow the seeds. The harvest is up to Him.
I encourage you to be mindful of the seeds you are sowing into the lives of your loved ones, church family, co-workers, or even the person serving you at McDonalds (yes, that one’s especially for me). Even if you don’t have moments of affirmation like I did this weekend, those seeds can still grow and make an impact in someone’s life. That’s something ALL spirit-filled believers can do.
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