Blog

Written by Lisa Mason
on 29th November 2021

For the past couple of months, as we have gathered to worship and study the bible together, we have been placing a big emphasis on our obedience to God’s word. We ask one another the question; ‘If this is really God’s word, what are we going to do in response?’ and we return to share stories of how we have been faithful to do what we said we would do - which are mostly stories of God’s faithfulness to do incredibly more with our small acts of obedience.

Perhaps you have done what you said you would do every week, perhaps you haven’t. If we are struggling to remember and do what we said we would do, it can be tempting to feel bad about ourselves or compare ourselves to others, we can convince ourselves that we are unqualified or just not good enough to serve God in this way. It’s easy to give up.

But is there another way to see ourselves as we seek to be faithful and obedient to God’s word together? We don’t have to read far into the first chapters of the bible to realise that humans are flawed but that our incredible God can still use us to fulfil his purposes on the earth. In fact, can you name a person in the story of God’s people who made no mistakes - other than Jesus? Our culture can be quick to slander and judge, but God’s word tells us that we all fall short of his glory and need the blood of Jesus to redeem us and make us right with God.

A picture that I have found helpful in the past few months has been that of the farmer, going out into the field with seeds to sow. Instead of evaluating the day ahead in terms of whether I can be good enough or not, I am learning to think about the seeds that I will sow. I can sow good seeds and I can sow bad seeds. If I have made some mistakes and sowed some bad seed, I can trust the Spirit to show me and help me to dig them out, no matter how deeply rooted. If I sow good seeds into my own heart and the lives of others, I can trust God to water them and bring good fruit.

What good seeds could you sow today? What words of peace, love, truth and hope could you release to others? How could you sow into your relationship with Jesus? What negative ways of seeing yourself or others does the Holy Spirit want to root out of your heart? Friends, may Jesus, the Good Sower, lead and guide you as you go out with seeds to sow this week.