Dandelions - Luke 8: 11-15

When I was about seven or eight my best friend Ryan and I got our first jobs. A nice little old lady hired us to pull up dandelions. She gave us a pail and tool that looked like a crooked screw driver. Her only instructions were get the roots on the yellow ones and try to not let the fuzz blow off the white ones. Yeah right! We had a great time and got paid a nickel per dandelion. The coolest thing is no matter how many we pulled a zillion more grew back. Unfortunately, we got laid off for reasons unknown to us at the time.

In today's passage Jesus explains the parable that we read about yesterday. The Seed is the Word of God. Jesus, then the disciples, and now we are the sowers. It is Sowers' responsibility to spread seed that produces good fruit. The sower need only spread the seed among the good soil and beware of the different types of soil that hinder or extinguish the seed's growth. How does this apply to our lives? Is Jesus telling us to save the Word for those prepared to faithfully listen? Is Jesus encouraging us to cultivate the soil before spreading the seed? Is spreading the seed the same as cultivating the soil? What are your thoughts?

One possible way it applies to my life is that I need to be aware that I am cultivating soil or spreading seed every day. My life's example plays an important role in the type of soil that the seed will reach. I also need to make sure that I continually spread the correct seed because there is good soil all around me. I think of so many people that know an awful lot about me: family, friends, the church, employees, soccer players and their parents.... I think specifically about my son, my daughter, and my wife: they see my study habits and my attitude toward spirituality; and, they hear the words that I use and see the way that I act. What kind of soil am I cultivating? What kind of seed am I sowing?

My first job was a life lesson that I did not get at the time. Those puffy dandelions were seeds and we apparently were surrounded by good soil. Our employer did not want us to spread that seed - but blowing on those fuzzy flowers was way too fun and much easier than keeping them in tact and putting them in the pail. Like us today we were spreading seed and did not even know it. Unfortunately the seed we sowed did not please our master. I pray that I do a better job today.