Mark: The Best-Laid Plans

As I write this, the rain is coming down and our backyard is starting to flood — not your typical February morning! It should be snowing out, and our backyard should be covered in snow, not drowning in water. But as I’ve come to realize, things don’t always go as expected. I was supposed to be going snowboarding tomorrow with my sons, but it doesn’t look like that will be happening! The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-20) is a great reminder that things don’t always turn out the way you want them to. You can plan and plan and plan, but ultimately things are out of your control.

Once again, Jesus is teaching a large crowd of people, and He shares with them this parable. The same seed is scattered everywhere, but the ground it lands upon determines if it will grow or not. The seed on the path is quickly devoured by birds; the seed in rocky soil grows well at first, but has no root and dies; the seed that fell among thorns grows, but it gets choked out and doesn’t produce fruit; and the seed that lands in good soil has deep roots, and produces an abundance of fruit. The same farmer, the same seed, but four very different results.

So do we just give up because things don’t go as planned? Absolutely not!! Only one out of the four seeds produced (not a very good success rate), but those seeds that did grow grew to multiply up to a hundred times! That is amazing! As we are called to take God’s word into our neighbourhood, we don’t know what the results will be like, or where we’ll see growth. We can plan and plan and plan, but ultimately things are out of our control. But praise be to God, nothing is outside of His control! In another parable a little further on (see Mark 4:26-29) Jesus shares this same thought. The farmer doesn’t make the seed grow, God does, but the farmer is responsible for sowing the seed. Let’s be faithful in doing just that!

As always, you’re welcome to join us at our weekly Gathering on Sundays at 6pm. There is childcare available for kids up to age 4, although all kids are welcome to stay in the service.

Pastor Mike