Out of the Sower's Hands

For family scripture study tonight, my family and I reviewed The Parable of the Sower. In this parable, the sower casts seeds, which fall on various kinds of ground. The seeds that fall on good soil grow, but the seeds that fall on lesser soil don't. One thing that struck me about this parable is that, unlike in The Parable of the Vineyard, there's nothing more the sower can do than simply cast the seeds. Once the sower has done their work, the rest of the process isn't up to them. It's literally out of their hands.

So it often is for us. We can share the message of the Gospel, but it's up to the hearers to receive it. If they choose not to listen, there's not much more we can do. People have agency, and that includes the ability to choose what they want to believe. Granted, we're not completely powerless in this. We can try to share our message as clearly and convincingly as possible, which includes speaking to the needs of those with whom we share it, and we can try to find and teach those who would be particularly receptive. But once we've said our peace and those we've spoken to have heard it, we'll have done about all we can do.

So, if you share a message, and the ones you share it with don't accept it, don't despair. It was necessarily any failing on your part. People can choose for themselves whether they'll accept the message or not. All we have to do is share it. Once the message has left our lips, it's not up to us anymore. Then it's up to God, the Spirit, and the soil on which the seeds were sown.