?Behold a Sower went forth to Sow??

Everyone in the Truth is familiar with the above words. Various things affect the work of the sower, such as the fertility of the soil and the weather in its seasons; all the factors are put there by God.

We are told in the book of Genesis that ?out of the ground made He (God) to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food?. This was the state of Eden before Adam and Eve sinned and when a sower sows his seeds, how he would still like to see the growth to be ?pleasant to the sight?.

In the creation God said ?let dry land appear? and it is only when there is the soil available that God can use it to ?bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed ??. It is this availability of land which also gives us the opportunity to go forth and start sowing unsparingly. Basically, there are three types of soil: clay, sand and loam. The last of these is best because of its richness. In the parable of the sower, reference is not made to the type of soil nor to the season. As Paul encourages Timothy, ?Be instant in season and out of season?.

But what about the type of soil? Suppose there is only sandy soil. What can the sower do? Definitely he still has to sow but he can improve the soil, such as by using fertilisers and organic matter.

When we read the Lord?s parable of the sower, do we think of these aspects? I would say ?Yes? and ?No?. Yes, for brothers and sisters where agriculture is the means of life. No, where a great majority of brothers and sisters in the West have never known what sowing and planting is in reality! What I would like to think about now are the ways to succeed in sowing spiritual seeds. As with sandy soil which needs extra attention, so with spiritual soil. Extra attention can produce amazing results.

Consider an area, the Caribbean, Africa or elsewhere. The seed is sown as in the Lord?s parable: some on the wayside where the fowls came and devoured it; some in stony places with no deepness of earth and were scorched when the sun was up and because they had no root they withered away; some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up and choked them.

But could the sower have foreseen these problems and taken measures to avert them? What precautionary measures could have been taken?

I was once shown a letter from a brother where a missionary week in Africa had produced the first converts to the Christadelphian faith but the Truth is now at a standstill, or had vanished altogether in some places. I thought how this situation could have been prevented. Jesus says, ?No man having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God,? and, ?For which of you, intending to build a tower sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost whether he have sufficient to finish it??

Remember that as a sower going forth ?to sow the seed? it is your responsibility to take the necessary measures before you sow, and also after you have sown until the harvest!

There is a tendency for a sower to only give attention to seeds on good soil. What about the other soils? Where the soil is poor, I think we should give extra attention with fertilisers, manure, feeding and watering to also produce amazing results. I should like to mention something about sowing in villages compared to urban areas. Experience tells me that village sowing is very much easier and the results are tremendous, but urban places are a different story. Preaching in big towns can cost five times more than in villages for a similar result. Therefore the town soil is stony; but often this is not considered by sowers!

In many ecclesias in the world, new converts have never been heard of even where the ecclesias have been in existence for more than a decade! Sad to say, the sowers who began the work have never asked themselves why this is so. Do they realise what is still their duty? Or do they think they have finished the work?

In Uganda, especially where I come from, while the first step is of vital importance, continued monitoring is very necessary; this involves weeding, pruning, etc, without which the ground becomes weedy and eventually the plants die off! The sower must use these considerations ? fertilisers, manure and all the technology within his means. We live in a sophisticated age and things which would have taken months in the first century can now be done in hours or minutes. We live in an age of spiritual bankruptcy, so we must be sure to use all methods possible. As the apostle Paul says, ?I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some and this I do for the gospel?s sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you?. Yes, we must use all possible methods to win souls for Christ. If we are serious sowers we should be prepared to face all the challenges of the different categories of soil. The aim is to get a good harvest, which requires all our efforts.

In the Lord?s parable of the sower there are three types of soil. The first is not good, the second is doubtful and the third is really good: ?He that received seed into good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty? (Mat 13:23). The enormous returns came where the soil had been thoroughly prepared.

In the case of our Lord, there had been considerable preparation: ?The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain? (Isa 40:3, 4). These prophetic words are recorded in all four gospels applying to John the Baptist preparing for ?one who was to come whose shoe?s latchet I am not worthy to unloose?. The work which John did before the Lord came is the same work needed by sowers before the spiritual sowing of the word. Also, we cannot sow and then leave the plants unattended. They need tending and the removal of weeds; those who are literal sowers will understand the very hard work that is needed.

Hard toil is inescapable: ?Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground??.

There is no other remedy. There is no harvest without toil. The soil must be cleared of thorns and thistles ?in the sweat?, but remember that the weeds then come up and must be removed. The effort continues all the time until harvest, which means that the sowers have a great task to accomplish. Do not forget the spiritual meaning of the parable of the sower. Hence the words of the Lord in the gospel of Matthew 24:46, ?Blessed is that servant whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing?.
 

Bro. John Ouma (Jinga, Uganda)