Pumpkin Seed Faith

A few days ago, one of my friends jokingly declared herself a pumpkin farmer. As proof of her farming talents, she posted a picture of a pale-orange pumpkin she'd recently harvested. Then, she explained that this practically perfect pumpkin grew from a volunteer vine in her backyard.

I was impressed.

But her picture and post also left me wondering where the seed for that impressively productive pumpkin vine came from. Did a bird drop it? Was it left on the ground by another animal, such as a deer or raccoon? Was it deposited by an even smaller creature, like a mouse or squirrel? Or did my friend dump the remains of her pumpkins from last Autumn nearby? Who knows, maybe that pumpkin vine came from a seed blown into her yard by a storm.

Honestly, my writer's imagination came up with a dozen possible scenarios as to how this pumpkin managed to grow so beautifully and perfectly right there in my friend's suburban yard. As I pondered this miraculous vine, so many Bible verses came to mind, including multiple parables that Jesus shared in Matthew 13.

The first parable in this chapter, often called “The Parable of the Sower,” covers verses 3-9 and is the first record of Jesus using a parable to teach the multitudes that followed Him. This story tells of a Sower who sowed His seed in four different scenarios – by the wayside, in rocky soil, among thorns, and into good ground.

Thankfully, Jesus explained the meaning of this parable in verses 18-23.

He likened the seed sown on the wayside to those who hear the Word without understanding, so the wicked one easily snatches it away. The rocky soil spoke of those who hear the Word and even receive it with joy, but without roots, it endures for only a short while. Those who are overly concerned with everyday life were compared to thorns that choke out the Word. But in good soil, Jesus showed how the Word is heard, received, understood, takes root, and produces much fruit.

That final scenario is our goal as believers. Yet we erroneously think that our role in this story is indispensable. It is not. Our only real job in this parable is to prayerfully bear witness to the seed, the Sower, and the harvest that He produces in the soil of hearts. As Jesus told His disciples in verses 16 and 17, we are given the amazing blessing of hearing and seeing as God works in the lives of those around us.

That is why I truly appreciate how the late Pastor Adrian Rogers took the Lord's explanation of this story and summarized it precept by precept in an archived online sermon called “The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Pastor Rogers taught that this parable is metaphorically and literally all about our Savior and His Word. In his sermon outline, he even typed these three statements in all capital letters for emphasis:

1. THE SEED IS THE WORD OF GOD.

2. THE SOWER OF THE SEED IS JESUS CHRIST.

3. THE SOIL REPRESENTS THE HEART OF PEOPLE.

Praise God! Those three truths make me want to shout, because even though sharing Jesus should be an integral part of life as a believer, He alone is the Lord of the Harvest. Yes, as followers of Christ, we are responsible for consuming and knowing His Word and then sharing it (as led by His Spirit) with people we meet daily in every avenue of life.

But as Pastor Rogers so eloquently stated, “The secret of a seed is that it germinates life,” and conversely, my own seeds (words) will never produce life. He alone is the creator of the Word of God, and His seed alone produces life. So, when we share His Word, those life-giving words are the seed, but perhaps most amazing of all, He is also the actual Sower of His Word.

That concept is hard to grasp until we understand that we cannot create that seed of the Word, and we cannot even really sow it. Nor can we create the soil, aka the hearts of the other people who receive the seed of His Word. Therefore, we are not qualified or called to judge the soil – writing off some plots of ground as too shallow, too rocky, or apt to produce thorns.

Only God can truly see into the soil of the heart. He alone knows the beginning from the end, and only He can hear the anguished, longing cries of those who are lost and dying without Christ. As the ultimate Sower, He alone uses the Seed of His Word to fill the soil of those aching hearts with His love and forgiveness.

Take Rahab the harlot as an example. Before she willingly hid and saved the men of God who had been sent to spy out her land, she was not a viable candidate for becoming a child of God. She was a harlot, living in a heathen land, an enemy of the one true God. Yet, somehow, the Bible lists Rahab within the official lineage of our Savior in Matthew 1, and she’s also listed among the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11.

I love how Charles Spurgeon described this mighty woman of faith in his biblical study of her life and legacy: “…Rahab, though her faith was solitary and was like a lily among thorns, yet was her faith nonetheless strong, but perhaps all the more unwavering.”

“A lily among thorns.”

What an amazing and beautiful testimony to the faith of this unlikely Bible hero. And what a timely reminder that God is sovereign. He is the Seed, the Sower, and the Lord of the Harvest.

So, my fellow believers, we must not give up on those people who seem hopelessly lost and headed straight to hell. We must keep praying, loving, sharing, believing, and waiting expectantly for His harvest.

Who knows! God might produce a perfectly formed and beautiful volunteer pumpkin right here in our own backyard.