From the Preacher’s Study
By ED ALLARD
Minister,
Monticello Church of Christ
Start the new year off right. What to do?! What to do?! Take some tips from Dr. Dennis Waitley. In 1983, Dr. Waitley, a behavioral scientist, wrote the book, Seeds of Greatness. Dr. Waitley believed that the basic principles of success he advocated “were supported by the ageless wisdom of the Scriptures and by the latest breakthroughs in medical science.”
Because of that, this book is definitely better than many self-help books, which rely strictly on humanistic principles, principles that deny the need for any aid beyond that provided by human resources.
In the introduction, headed, “Grandma Taught Me to Plant the Seeds,” he tells us that from his beloved Grandma he learned the importance of planting the right seed.
She would look intently and directly into my eyes and say, “Plant apple seeds, and you get apple trees, plant acorns and you get great oak trees, plant weeds and you will harvest weeds, plant the seeds of great ideas, and you will get great individuals.” Grandma planted the seeds of great ideas in her grandson and produced a great individual in Dr. Waitley.
Examine the seeds (ideas) you are planting in you mind as you begin the new year. Are they positive or negative? Positive thoughts produce positive results. Negative thoughts produce negative results. And examine the garden of your mind in which you are planting those seeds.
In explaining the biblical parable of the soil, called by many the parable of the sower, Jesus tells us in Luke 8:11, that the seed represented the word of God. In this parable, the sower sowed the same seed everywhere in the field. But the seed didn’t produce the same results.
As Jesus explained, the difference was in the type of soil where the seed was sown. The soil represented the different conditions of people’s hearts. Read this parable in Luke 8:5-15, just 11 short verses, and learn some very important lessons. No greater seeds of ideas can be planted in our minds than those in the word of God, but our minds must be receptive to that seed.
Examine the condition of your heart. Jesus tells us why the word of God does not have the same effect on everyone. It all depends on the condition of our heart, how we hear the word of God. Is your heart receptive to the word of God?
Just as some soil is not receptive to seed planted in it, because of the condition of the soil, so our hearts must be receptive to receiving the word of God, with a heart conditioned by the desire to hear God’s word and accept it. God neither forces anyone to hear His word or accept it. Cultivate the soil of your mind and let it be receptive to the seed, which is the word of God.
There was nothing wrong with the seed sown in the parable, the seed that represents the word of God. The hearts of some though are like some of the soil in this parable and so the seed does not penetrate their unreceptive, hardened hearts.
Yet, God in His mercy, and with patience, continues to give us opportunities to hear and receive His word. His desire is that all be blessed and receive the salvation He provides through His Son Jesus Christ. He grieves when anyone rejects His word. Open your heart to God that His seed may take root as you begin a new year.
God rejoices, as do the angels in heaven, when those who have honest and good hearts hear His word and it penetrates their heart, producing faith.
Through faith/confidence/trust in God we can receive the spiritual blessings of God.
Faith/confidence/trust in God is gained through hearing the word of God as we read in Romans 10:17. That faith/confidence/ trust in God, produced by the word of God, moves us to obedience to His word that saves our souls. How? God’s word in the gospel is the power of God to save as we see in Romans 1:16.
It has motivating power, convincing power, convicting power, converting power, in the receptive heart, the good soil. The seed, which is the word of God does all that and brings forth fruit in our life that honors God. This is the kind of seed highlighted in the parable of Luke 8. Did you read those 11 short verses?
The principle Dr. Waitleys’ Grandma taught him of planting good seed, the right kind of seed, comes from the word of God in Genesis 1. In creation God instituted the law of procreation, which insures that every living thing reproduces “according to its kind.” That is true in plant life, in animal life, in human life, and in spiritual life.
You don’t plant apple seeds and get oak trees. You don’t plant acorns and get weeds. You don’t plant weeds and get anything but weeds. This shows us the importance of having the right seed, the pure seed of God’s word planted in our hearts, and nothing but the pure seed of the word of God. Weeds (defective seed) produce defective spiritual life.
Having told us what kind of seeds we need to sow in our garden of life in order to cultivate a great life, Dr. Waitley ends the introduction with the words, “We need to seed and cultivate our gardens. The need to work in the garden never ends; it is never finished.”
The pure, unadulterated seed, which is the word of God, always produces what God intended for it to produce. Take into your garden God’s seed, not weeds, for the abundant life Jesus provides.