Nurturing the Faith

The Parable of the Sower

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”  Matthew 13:1-9

I believe the good soil Jesus refers to in this parable is similar to how we nurture our faith.  Certainly fertile soil is better than rocks or thorns, but the crop must also be cared for.  Jesus compares it later in verse 23 to someone listening and understanding the Word. Both of these actions are choices.  If we CHOOSE to listen and understand we are nurturing the seed, and Jesus explains, our crop will produce a hundred times over. 

Nurturing faith takes time and effort and I find it to be extremely rewarding when I am able to focus intently on scripture. 

The Truth Project bible study is something I've participated in with several families from my church.  I found it to be very challenging, both academically and spiritually.

I found attending the Faith Development evening sessions to be good starting points for self-reflection and provided good resources for further study.

I was moved by Ken Yasinski's challenging sessions particularly about living with an eternal perspective at the division-wide Spiritual Development day on March 9th of this year. 
Taking a comfort/photo op break at the Holy Spirit division-wide Spiritual Development Day

No comments:

Post a Comment