15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. – Luke 8:15
This past Sunday our family visited the local farmer’s market. My favorite part of this market is the conversations between the small tent vendors when we meet up. Each vendor has their own story of small business, some accompanied by stories of faith, in which i enjoy to hear them share with us. On Sunday, I met “Shamay”, a local Hebrew Farmer that was selling their veggies and fruit. We stopped for some corn on the cob and as our conversation got deeper, He explained a little about his faith “Hebrew”.
Shamay and I were able to agree on a few key points, God was the Father, and Jesus was his Son, but as our discussion continued, I had to get some advice on MY OWN gardening techniques from him. I explained my few simple crops I have been working with, green peppers, strawberries, basil, mint, and now watermelon. As we continued to talk I explained to Shamay, “Man, I feel like I water well, and with really good water, but my stuff just doesn’t seem to PRODUCE much?”
He chuckled, then responded, “Water well?” “Yes”, I said, “I water them regularly with very clean filtered water but they just don’t seem to put out much growth or fruit, even my soil is good”!
Shamay looked right at me as he spoke, “friend, what are you feeding your plants? You water well so they are hydrated but they have to eat well to produce. The nutrients are only found in the soil, not the water!”
Why have i not heard this before? How many years of trying and failing at gardening and his response so simple… FERTILIZE! OF course he went on to sell me HIS farm produced completely organic rabbit manure fertilizer, which I can’t wait too see the results. But does this not sound like something we need to hear from our faith?
For years I had heard of the parable of the farmer casting his seed, some on rocky ground, some over thorns and others on the “good soil”. The thing I never picked up on is that the SOIL held the nutrients for the seed to take. It IS NOT JUST SUN AND WATER that cause their growth but the NUTRIENTS within the soil that help produce their fruit!
I will be sure to report back on my success with the backyard garden using Shamay’s new Rabbit Poop Fertilizer, but more importantly, our FAITH must be FED it’s nutrients through the WORD. God’s Scripture is the key to growth and fruit producing faith for us! You cannot just go to church and sing some songs to grow! You need the fertilizer to PRODUCE and it is in His WORD!
15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience. – Luke 8:15
Barnabas Man 