I’ve been wrestling the elements as of late. And actually, some people too 😅 But I’ll start with the easy one…

Bottom line is our sheep pasture isn’t holding up 😐 I’m fighting what feels like an uphill battle to reclaim it as thistles have taken root and barren patches developed. I fight this against time (having the time to put the work in plus the seasonality of planting coming to a close), conditions (needing the proper rain and temps), and “predators” (literally if I’m out doing any kind of work my nosey chickens come and want to investigate–they love to destroy everything I plant if I don’t protect it 🙄).

We aren’t a big farm with nice flat open plots of land. We have a few acres. The designated pasture areas are on a hillside just before our woods. We have a tractor, but not the kind of equipment most people use to plant larger areas. As a result, the pasture repairs (destroying thistles/nettles and sowing seed that’s good for grazing) really have to be done by hand 🫤

As I’ve been working to rescue and reclaim patches of our paddocks, I can’t help but think about the parable of the Sower and the seeds.

“Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. ² He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

¹⁰ When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

¹³ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? ¹⁴ The farmer sows the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. ¹⁶ Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. ¹⁸ Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. ²⁰ Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:1-20

While out working the ground and planting, I’ve noticed a few things…

It’s not enough to just throw seeds around and hope for the best, very few survive. Whats given reasonable results is when I broadcast HUGE amounts of seed under the right conditions (just before it rains to soften the ground, clear thistles, cover seeds with mulch).

What would give even better results would be if we could till up everything, but that’s not an option for us right now.

Anyway, IF I can get the seeds to germinate, I still need to protect them from the chickens and the sheep. The chickens scratch at them and uproot and the sheep primarily stomp new growth. And then there’s the thistles…As long as the pasture is young, I have to go in and cut down or dig up thistles or they block the sunlight and choke out the developing sheep food (the sheep don’t eat the thistles).

This is not unlike our lives and our hearts, as Jesus so clearly explained.

If we are not diligent in keeping good soil, we cannot expect to produce good crops. It’s so simple. And yet, it took walking through my wasteland pasture this year to have it really hit home 🙈

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. ²⁴ Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.²⁵ Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. ²⁶ Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.²⁷ Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Prov 4:23-27

The pasture cannot be left unattended, and neither can our hearts. It is now and will always be a battle ground. ⚔️ A place where I fight to keep the plants I desire to feed my sheep and eliminate those they deem inedible. Going into our second year of spring/summer grazing, I think I get it now 🫥

Have you ever looked at a Christian who seems like they’ve de-railed or like their life is a trainwreck? Or maybe you’ve been/are currently that Christian?

Good news: there’s hope.

As I was out sowing abundantly and covering patches of dry rocky soil, I felt like God was sharing a few things with me.

First, some Christians have never taken the time to work the soil. If we really want to reflect Jesus, we have to do the hard work–not just casting seed (reading the Word or listening to a sermon) and hoping for the best–we need to TILL UP THE FALLOW GROUND.

Tilling is HARD WORK.

Tilling is repentance and continued obedience to the Word. It’s an acknowledgment of what is wrong, asking forgiveness (softening the soil), and inwardly turning away from things that do not bring about what God desires. This is where the rubber meets the road. Every time we choose to turn from offense, gossip, slander, accusation, lust, theft, idolatry, etc and turn towards God, we soften the ground, pluck up a few more weeds, and protect the seeds that have been sown 💪 When we DON’T do the right things in these situations, we basically allow the chickens, sheep, and thistles to come and destroy the very thing we’ve been hoping for (the fruit of God’s Word in our lives).

Here’s the hard part–you can’t just do it once. And if you’re a seasoned Christan, you’ve heard that, you know it, but it doesn’t mean we are always diligent in doing it 😬 And when we are not–it starts to show. It doesn’t matter how many times you go to church in a week, how many activities you’re involved in, or sermons you listen to. It doesn’t matter if you speak Christianese fluently and can give all of the right answers. When we aren’t diligent in keeping our hearts, they will naturally begin to harden and the weeds will come in and start to choke out the crop. Eventually, weeds seep out in small ways leading to even bigger issues as you try to live off of the little remaining good you still have.

One more analogy from sowing and I’ll wrap this up…

I’ve said this in a number of blogs in various ways–but one of the keys to the seeds’ survival is having more surviving seeds around it (“not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” Heb 10:25). It’s not just the lone sheep the wolves prey on, it’s also the lone plant! A single germinated seed all by itself stands less of a chance of survival compared to more densely sown areas.

Finally, one key I’ve discovered is to broadcast LOTS of seed ALL of the time! Not just sprinkles here and there, go all in!

Whether in life or in the pasture, when I’ve been stingy with sowing, I’ve had weak harvests. When I’ve cast lots of seed (the Word of God) all over the place (my work, the gas station, grocery stores, etc), the odds of some taking root and successfully germinating increase. Once some seeds start to grow, they help break up the soil and prevent quick evaporation of water for the ones around them, making it more likely that others survive and simultaneously make less space for weeds.

Jesus called ALL of us to make disciples. It’s not enough just to exist. He expects us to grow like a plant…through germination and immaturity TO maturity and replication. When we make sure the Word is falling on the right soil, we *WILL* produce a crop some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown…🙌

In closing, I have good news–you don’t have to have perfect pastures to have some edible plants. Same time, you can’t ignore the hard spots or they will grow. Little by little, the fallow ground expands and quite literally the only thing that seems to be able to take root there are thistles. Do not neglect to do the right things ALL of the time, right away, or your crop will be reduced.

It’s not easy to walk away from the temptations to whisper about the wrongs done to you. It’s not easy to forgive or turn the other cheek. It’s not easy to shut down temptation when you’re on your last nerve or completely exhausted.

But remember “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1 Cor 10:13

If you’ve ever looked at another Christian and wondered “what is going on there?” because things don’t quite line up, pray for them. COVER THE SEED IN THEIR HEARTS SO IT CAN GROW. What’s likely going on is they’re exhausted, under attack, and maybe don’t even know it. Promote love. Cover their wrongs, even when it hurts, and hopefully, another believer will extend that same level of grace to you when you need it, because we all need it now and then 🙃

Hopefully you’re reading this and feel reassured because you’ve done the hard things and kept up with guarding your heart. If so, take a second to think of the people in your life you might need to be covering and pray for them. The prayer of the righteous man avails much (James 5:16). If, however, you have some work to do—do it! Go all in. Repent. Till up the hard ground and KEEP (yes keep) broadcasting seed. You’re not disqualified just because you’re a work in progress, we all are.

As always, thanks for stopping by.

“So shall my word be that goes forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” Isaiah 55:11