Living it Out

I had an uncle who would tell stories.  He was a good storyteller, and the kids and cousins would sit around and listen to him when we were cooped up in the house on rainy Sunday afternoons.  That was the day Dad would drive us "to the country" and we would hang out, watch Tarzan movies, and just be kids.  By the way, no cell phones were involved ... they weren't invented yet.  I liked those stories, but I was an outdoor guy.  I would be out living, doing, playing, and sweating in the hot summer sun.  I loved it, and lived it out!

Our Vacation Bible School theme this year (didn't we have fun last week?) is "live it out."  We are (even as I write this) turning our facility into a giant camping-themed center, complete with campfires, tents, kayaks, tiki torches, and all the trimmings.  It will be a blast to share Jesus and tell His stories, as we encourage everyone to live out their faith.  We even have an adult VBS (thanks, Nicey!), and we will learn about how far out we can really live, as we reflect on the God of the natural and supernatural.

As we "live it out," I think about a short sentence at the beginning of the parable of the sower.  It says this ... "A sower went out to sow his seed (Luke 8:5)."  What can we learn from this sentence and this parable?

1. The sower is a metaphor for God.  God's nature is to sow seed.  God plants.  The garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8).  The great cedar on Ezekiel's mountain (Ezekiel 17:3).  And here, in this parable, the sower sows!

2. The sower went out.  In the parable, the sower isn't particular about where the seed falls.  It falls on good ground, stony ground, ground covered by thorns ... He sows everywhere!

In the book Unseen Realm, a repeated theme is reflected in this story.  That theme is summarized in 2 statements ... God desires a family ... God grows that family through His people that He has planted here.  For some reason, God is continually bringing all people to Him.  And God uses an extraordinary mechanism to accomplish this sowing and family-building.  He uses His Church.

God doesn't only use His Church to reach out to the world.  He aggressively sows through people he has called.  Who are these people?  You, me, and all who claim the name of Jesus.  We are mini-sowers ... called to plant the seeds of faith.  How do we plant here at Abbeville Methodist?  I think we have several special gifts/values (as a church) that allow us to be part of the sower's work:

1. We believe in going "outside the camp (Hebrews 13)."  One of our values is missions, local, national, and international.  Like the sower, we "go out."

2. We share the creative aspect of planting by seeking, teaching, and speaking beauty.  Music, singing, art, architecture, and lyrics are heard, spoken, and applied each week here at Abbeville Methodist.

3. We are learning and will become more proficient at discipleship.  One pastor said it this way ... discipleship churches become gardens ... internally-focused churches become graveyards.

God thinks sowing is important enough to be a sower of seeds.  Jesus was our great teacher who showed us how to sow seed.  In Matthew 28 and Acts 1, Jesus proclaims His intention that we sow in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.  So ... how will you become a part of this outward, going, and sowing way of life and ministry?  How will you ... "Live it out?"