Seeds and Salt

Unless we have been living under a rock we are all aware of the unfathomable suffering in our world. Most of us respond with great compassion and sympathy, but we also feel very small and ordinary.  We can send a few dollars to some organization, but most often we are left feeling impotent and ineffective.

I think Jesus knew we would feel this way so he told stories. He used analogies and metaphors about little things that make a big difference.  Two of those analogies are seeds and salt. 

SEEDS

I have a poem taped to the whiteboard by my desk.  The last lines say: 

I choose to risk my significance ;

To live so that which came to me as seed

    goes to the next as blossom

And that which came to me as a blossom

     Goes on as fruit.”

(Fully Alive by Dawn Markova)

Both this poem and the Bible stress the importance of sowing seeds.  There are several ideas about seeds that have impressed themselves on me lately.

First, we have all been given seed to sow.  Every single one of us is a unique, one-of-a-kind gift to this planet.  There will never be another me or another you.  God implanted in each of us a unique and Divine way of manifesting Him and His love into this world.  It doesn’t matter if we are gifted orators or are good at making money, or making pies or arranging flowers or are just good listeners  Anywhere we live and work there are people who are desperately in need of what each one of us can give.   So saying we are insignificant and have nothing to give is a fallacy.

My wife’s sister had Down Syndrome.  She obviously had many limitations.  But she also had a heart full of love for God and people.  I can remember her talking to almost anyone she met and reminding them that Jesus loves them.  She said it with such conviction and sincerity that her words often stopped them cold. What a simple reminder but what a profound reminder. She did not have a big flashy seed, but it was HER seed and she sowed it everywhere she went.   

Second, sowing seed is an act of faith.  Farmers labor in plowing and preparing their fields, they sow and plant their seeds, they tend the crop by controlling weeds and water.   But that time between the sowing of the seeds and the first little sign of green growth requires complete faith. The farmer has no ability to make that seed break open and swell until it brings forth life. All he can do is put the seed into the dark earth and walk away. The rest is not his job or his business. 

Jesus put it this way.  

 “A man scatters seed on the ground.  Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.  All by itself the soil produces grain, first the stalk, then the head and then the full kernel in the head”. Mark 4: 26-28)

 So like the farmer, our job is to plant seed everywhere we go.  It doesn’t matter if people read what we write, or commend us for helping them.  It doesn’t matter if they change their lives. What matters is that the seed is sown.  The rest is God’s job, not ours. 

As I was walking into the grocery store this morning a woman walked toward me.  Her hair was disheveled, her clothes dirty and worn, and her face wore pain.  I greeted her cheerfully saying,  “good morning”.  Her pace did not slow and her expression did not change.   As I walked away I asked God to bless her day and to give her a sense of His loving presence.   It doesn’t matter if we see a result, or impact from our sowing of seeds.  It matters that we sow them everywhere we go.  A seed of kindness had been sown. The rest is not my job.  

Third, sowing of seed is tremendously important.  Families living in poor countries sow seeds to feed their families.  The harvest ensures that they and their families will not starve.   When I say the world is starving for love it’s not a hyperbole.  People, rich and poor, black and white, young and old are starving to be seen and loved. The seemingly little, insignificant seeds you and I can plant will feed their hearts. 

Just commend someone for a good job, or touch them on the shoulder in compassion and watch the tears fill their eyes.  Who notices people?  Who stops to help them empty their grocery cart or get the bags to their car?  Who takes their neighbors garbage can back after trash day or bakes fresh bread when they are sick?  Sadly few people understand how powerful these small little acts of kindness can be.  They can be life-changing.  

We have all been given seed.  We must believe that what we have is significant.  We must sow our seed in as many places to as many people as possible. 

SALT

 Another metaphor Jesus used to show us how vital we are to the health of our society is salt. 

Jesus said, “Let me tell you why you are here. You are the salt of the earth” Matthew 5:13

Jesus did not say you are “supposed to be” salt. He said YOU ARE SALT!  And He said it’s why we are here.  

 Here are few things salt does: 

• Salt preserves food

• Salt disinfects wounds

• Salt melts ice

• Salt softens water

• Salt soothes sore throats

• Salt flavors food

Just look at those verbs:  preserves, disinfects, melts, softens, soothes, and flavors. 

And now think of the fact that YOU and I are the life forces on earth that God uses to give these essential elements to our world.  

Being salt is not just a nice little boy scout or girl scout thing to do.  Being salt is ESSENTIAL to life on this planet.   Having too little salt in our bodies will kill us.  I golf in the hot summer sun and several years ago I started feeling nauseous and dizzy.   I had sweat out the salt my body so desperately needed.  Someone gave me a salt tablet which I took.  In a few minutes I felt better.  I learned that without salt we die.  Think of that for a bit.  Without salt we die!!!!

And so we might diminish our importance. We might give credence to the voices in our heads that tell us we are not smart, or rich, or talented so we have nothing to give.  But God does not diminish it.  God says what we have to offer this aching world are the essential elements needed for human life.  We can sow seeds that feed the hearts of people.  We can be salt everywhere, thus healing, melting, soothing, flavoring, and preserving their souls.   

To diminish ourselves, our gifts, or our opportunities is to diminish the Divine Seed and Salt we are.  We can all be part of the healing of our planet.  Not one of us is insignificant.  

So, I leave you with this prayer

Lord God, I don’t feel very special or that I have much to give this starving world.  May you remind me of the seeds that are mine to sow.  May you remind me in the moments of my day to cast my seeds wide and far to every person I meet. May you remind me that in every single encounter I can be one whose saltiness is a healing flavoring agent.  May you convince me that it matters. And may I trust that you, the Lover of us all, will tend the seed and cause it to grow into a harvest of love.  May I trust that just a grain of salt from me can flavor, and melt and soothe and heal the place I inhabit. May I live this precious life you have given to me and others as though it matters.