In case you didn’t know Chia Pet seeds are slimy like frog eggs. And how do I know this? They are on my kitchen counter. They are on my dining room table. Actually they are all over my house. Yes, it is true. We actually got a Chia Pet and will watch with wonder as this clay donkey grows green hair in strangely arranged patterns. I have this feeling it will look like someone with trichotillomania.
Surely Jesus would make a parable out of Chia Pets since He likes talking about seed sowing. I do so wish spreading the seed Jesus referred to was as easy as spreading Chia Pet seeds around our house. The great Gospel Commission at the end of Matthew is all about each of us spreading seed. It is a very sensitive thing. I was in a class in a public university and witnessed a very committed Christian trying to witness to his fellow classmates. What I saw was a room full of people who were quite turned off. The harder he tried the more obnoxious he became. Ever since, I have been challenged not to hide my faith but to somehow not repeat what I saw him do.
I have come to be very thankful that Jesus doesn’t ask us to harvest. He asks us to be seed sowers and to watch the Holy Spirit nurture the growth. He will harvest. It is a pretty good system. Our responsibility is fairly limited as is our ability to do much more than that. Just as in Jesus’ parable the seed falls on rich ground and on rock. Effective seed sowing is the way we treat people and not so much handing them a pamphlet.
Written by Roger Bothwell on December 27, 2008
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574