Do you remember the story Jesus told about the farmer who scattered some seeds?
I’m paraphrasing a bit here, but it went something like this:
One day, a farmer went out to scatter some seeds. As he did, the seed fell on all types of terrain – hardened paths where birds swiftly snatched it up, rocky ground where it sprang up only to wither under the hot sun, and thorny patches where it was choked out and couldn’t mature. And then some seed fell on fertile soil and produced a bountiful harvest.
Whenever I hear this parable, I immediately start to analyze the terrain of my own heart.
“What kind of ground am I? How do I make my soil less hard? Less rocky? Less thorny? How do I fix what’s wrong with me?”
A different take
I sometimes wonder if I’m too quick to make this parable about me.
In my preoccupation with trying to analyze my own soil, what if I’ve missed an entirely different lesson this parable might have about the character of the one scattering the seeds?
What if it’s not about us or the condition of our hearts at all?
What if this is a parable about the scandalous generosity of the Sower?
The scandalous, wasteful generosity of the Sower
Imagine the parable again, but instead of focusing on the soil this time, focus on the face of the one scattering seeds.
Notice his smile as he strolls across the countryside, in and out of towns, along the streets and sidewalks, through parks and meadows, playgrounds where children play, and dark alleys where shadows loom, tossing handfuls of seed without concern for the condition of the soil or the likelihood of harvest.
Watch as he flings fistfuls of seed with joyful abandon toward hardened paths, rocky ground, and thorny patches alike, with zero concern for efficiency or waste.
Notice how the seeds fly everywhere.
There’s no way to control where that much seed falls.
It spills over, slips through his fingers, and blankets the ground, scattering in all directions.
That might even be the point.
What if this is not a parable about terrain at all?
What if it’s a parable about the heart of an extravagant (some might even say, wasteful) Sower, whose generosity exceeds limit and logic?
God’s lavish blessing for all
The Sower keeps sowing because he knows that if he sows enough seed, some will eventually land in the right spot and flourish.
This a story about a God who squanders the treasures of heaven in wasteful generosity upon all creation without distinction because he has more than enough to go around.
It reveals a God whose love overflows in absurd, lavish blessing – casting broadly that all might receive, refusing to discriminate because who knows what hardened human ground might not also one day yield a crop one hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown under the sunshine of his love.
And what might this radical vision of a God who scatters blessings without restraint have to teach us about generosity?
Challenging assumptions about scarcity
First, it challenges our assumptions of scarcity.
While we tend to operate as though goodness is finite, hoarding what we have accumulated, the Sower acts from a place of true abundance, tossing seed to the wind with the confidence that there really is more than enough to go around.
We tend to be calculated and cautious with our charity, but Jesus was scandalous and extravagant in the way he poured himself out entirely in complete self-giving love.
Indiscriminate generosity
The Sower also models indiscriminate generosity, not basing the worthiness of the soil on appearance or presumed potential.
We are quick to judge, often extending generosity only to those who seem deserving. We easily fall into the trap of only casting our generosity on soil we deem to be good.
But the Sower shows no partiality, even wasting precious seeds on terrain that seems inhospitable.
While there is certainly a place for prudence, stewardship, and discretion in how we allocate finite resources, the Sower calls us to a higher generosity – one marked by joyful abandon to blessing even the most unlikely recipients.
Generosity motivated by joy
And finally, the Sower reflects a generosity motivated more by joy than duty or results.
The Sower is not concerned with returns. He freely “wastes” seed, content that what needs to flourish ultimately will.
There is no careful strategy or cost-benefit analysis governing his radical sharing.
The Sower simply delights in the act of giving itself. The scattering of seeds brings its own reward.
Walking in the footsteps of the extravagant Sower
What if we, too, walked with hands overflowing in eager generosity, reflecting God’s delighted heart to give everything away?
What if we scattered seeds of hope and redemption freely across all terrain, refusing prejudice about what was “worthy soil,” trusting that, with God, all ground could prove fertile in due time?
There is an abundance that only the eyes of faith can see.
And it starts by walking in the joyful footsteps of the wasteful Sower, generously flinging mercy and blessing in holy abandon upon a world in desperate need of both.
Our call is not to evaluate soils.
Our call is to follow in the footsteps of the one who scatters freely so that all might share in the riches and joy of God’s abundance.
– Michael Mitchell is the Director of Development & Discipleship at CAFO.