New shoots

I'm not much of a gardener (which generally isn't a problem as I don't have much of a garden). My Mum, on the other hand, knows a thing or two about plants and very kindly tidied up my small front garden when she came to stay in January. She also helped me plant some small bulbs and I noticed today when I came back from church that some green shoots have started to appear. This made me think about the 'seeds' of the gospel that we plant when we share our faith with others. Sometimes I get discouraged when I have spoken to people about my faith and there don't seem to be any instant results, but it's helpful to remember that God is often at work under the surface, nurturing the seed that has been planted and causing it to grow. Much of what God is doing can't be seen at first, but that doesn't mean that he has abandoned us. I have seen green shoots of hope emerge from the soil many years after I have started praying for change, growth and healing in my life and lives of others. It is an encouragement to keep planting seed and trusting God that he will cause it to grow and bloom.
"So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow." (1 Cor 3: 4)

I also love the way that the Bible is full of illustrations drawn from everyday life. Jesus told stories about fishermen, farmers and shepherds - drawing parallels between the things they understood and the Kingdom of God. However, I often wonder what modern parables Jesus would tell if he was born in 21st century Britain. Sometimes I feel like some of the potency of these agricultural parables is lost on me as I am an urbanite with little understanding of farming, fishing or looking after sheep. So I'm really grateful to God that today he made the parable of the sower a little bit more real for me.