Seeds and Soil

This week our church is hosting a Vacation Bible School (VBS) for the children of our community. A group of high-school age kids and adults came down from Denver to spend the week serving God in this way. They brought materials for the program, food for lunches for the children in the program, and more food for their own meals all week. And they brought enthusiasm for what they hoped to do over the course of the week.

About half of the Denver group was here last year, when a similar program drew 62 children. 62! That large of a number startled us, as it greatly exceeded our most optimistic hopes. To spend a week with 62 children, and do it well, takes a lot of enthusiasm for the task at hand.

Things are really different this year, as the VBS only has 12 children.  It is a pretty dramatic change, and we understand some of the reasons that the number is down. And I know that the decrease has been a bit disappointing for the volunteers, in particular the high school kids.

The attendance may be down, but the basic task, and its importance, is both unchanged and greatly needed in our community.

In Matthew 13:1-9 Jesus tells a story that we know as the Parable of the Sower.  A man scatters seed over a variety of terrain, with different results.  Some lands on barren ground. Some is pecked up by birds. Some starts to grow and is choked out by weeds. And some grows into a crop with a magnificent harvest. 

That parable speaks to the work of our mission volunteers from Denver. They are spreading the seed of the Gospel and tending the soil.  They may only be tending it for a few days, but that is okay. They tend the soil of the lives of the children here in Dulce and the harvest from the crop is in the hands of God.

The need for the hope of the Gospel is great here, as truthfully it is everywhere. But I'm just more in tune to the specific needs here, and in some cases the specific needs of the kids at the VBS. And so I want our partners this week to be encouraged that they are doing good and important work. And if it looks like the work that you are doing to spread the Gospel where you are at doesn't seem to be bearing much fruit, be encouraged. Know that Christians are called to be faithful, and the God will bring forth the harvest. And frankly, that harvest could be many years in the making.

And the last thing I shared with our friends from Denver this morning is that as they are spreading the seed of the Gospel some of it is being sown in them too. It may very well be that one day, years down the road, the greatest harvest from the week they spend in Dulce will take place in their own lives.

Spread the seed. Tend the soil. God will bring forth the harvest. To God be the glory!

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.