The Life of a Sower: A Lifestyle of Blind Faith
Never underestimate the power of a planted seed.
sow·er
[ soh-er ]
: someone or something that sows
a: a person who plants a seed
The life of a sower completely goes against today’s culture. A culture that values instant gratification, external validation, and aesthetics over genuine connection and transparency. It’s just not appealing. Social media isn’t set up to support it. The hustle and show mentality does not see the value in it. We live in a culture that praises the “I got it out the mud/ I did this on my own” mindset.
It’s one of the most destructive lies Satan would have us believe…
Before we go into why these beliefs are so destructive, let me explain what I mean by the life of a sower.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a sower as a person who plants a seed. The biblical description is very much the same. Someone who plants a seed. The difference lies in the type of seed that’s planted and what is done by the sower once the planting is done.
Take this walk with me…
Visualize a large piece of land that a farmer has prepared for planting. He lays his seeds, fertilizes them, and waters them carefully and intentionally. He spends the next few months tending to his seeds ensuring their growth and preventing their destruction. He waits to receive his own harvest. The objective of sowing the seeds is to reap the benefits of that harvest.
Now visualize this, God has called us to be sowers of his word, his will, and his kingdom. He has prepared the land. He has arranged the provisions to protect and care for the seed once it’s planted. He only needs you to plant them. The harvest isn’t for you. You may never see signs of growth or even know what type of harvest it will bring forth. The objective of sowing the seeds is for the kingdom of God and the body of Christ to reap the benefits.
See how that goes against everything our culture embraces!
It’s something I am constantly reminded and lovingly convicted of through every season of my life. Whether I wanted to admit it or not, my career and passions all had one thing in common, planting seeds. From my early years of working with adolescents in the foster care system, through my journey to creating 3AM and eventually becoming a therapist, every season has called me to plant seeds in the lives of others. Never knowing how or if those seeds took root or if they ever reaped a harvest was challenging. I wanted to see that I was making a difference in the lives of those I encountered. There were times I felt my efforts were meaningless. There were times I would look at the lives of others and see the praise and recognition they received for the things they were doing and I would begin to question my own path. Halfway through an 11-year tenure with Child Protective Services, I expressed my discouragement to my mother. And she told me something that embedded itself in my spirit from that moment on.
“God called you to plant a seed. You may never know what that seed did or the impact that it made but the harvest or the glory wasn’t for you anyways…”
God didn’t call us to tend to the seeds that we sow in the lives of others. He simply called us to lay the seeds. In Mark 4:26-29 Jesus teaches the parable of the growing seed. A man takes his seeds and scatters them across the land and walks away, literally. Soon, the seeds take root and begin to grow and sprout. It eventually grows to maturity and at the right time, it is harvested. All taking place without the man’s help. When the man returns, he doesn’t understand how the seed grew so successfully. He says to himself, “all by itself the soil produces.” This parable illustrates God’s ability to take the seeds we plant and create a beautiful harvest.
Translation= He doesn’t need our help!
God is working to water and tend to the many seeds that are planted in the lives around us.
His will is carried out even when the sower has moved on.
1 Corinthians 3:6 says this, “ I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” There may be seasons when God calls you to plant and nurture, motherhood for example, but even in those seasons, God is still doing miraculous things in the background. So whether you are called to plant, water or nurture, it is through God’s grace, love, and timing that those seeds take root and grow.
I’ve embraced the mentality of being a sower, but only recently did I begin to embrace the lifestyle that accompanies this calling. For me, this lifestyle means being content and satisfied with living quietly in the background. Being ok with being overlooked by cultural standards yet still remaining confident in the plan God has for the lives I encounter daily. And having the faith that he will bring the seeds I plant to harvest in its appointed season (Habakkuk 2:3, Ecclesiastes 3:1)
The lifestyle of a sower not only calls us to live out God’s promises through faith but it also calls us to maintain our own ‘land’ for sowing. 1 Corinthians 3:9 says “For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building.” Preparing my land for other believers to sow into my life requires me to seek God intentionally and consistently. Praying for discernment, conviction, and humility. If my own life is not rooted in God, I will never be positioned to see any seeds in my life bear fruit. But if I seek his face in every aspect of my life and remain open to his will, the blessings of my life will overflow as described in Mark 4:2-9 “…And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. (vs 20. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.)
Satan wants us to believe that the calling of a sower is undesirable. He wants us to believe that our seeds will never take root simply because we don’t benefit from the harvest. Or he leads you to believe that you are not able to do this job because you have nothing to give. Sowing seeds into the lives of others is the very essence of what we have been called to do as believers. Regardless of the type of seed, you are planting: love, service, or patience. Or if you are in a season of nurture: caretaker, parent, or grandparent. No matter your profession: educator, doctor, or janitor, God has placed something inside of you to give. And he calls us to take what we have and give sparingly. 2 Corinthians 9:10 says, “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.” God will maintain whatever it is you need when you’ve been called to live a life of a sower. In return, the souls that are harvested for the body of Christ will also multiply!
Our reward is found in the overflow of heaven.
Never underestimate the power of a planted seed or the calling to sow those seeds. “For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord”, you have been called to greatness. And that greatness will allow you to pour into the hearts and souls of those around you, as God prepares them for a harvest that will bring forth healing, restoration, peace, and favor.