|
Forty years ago a study was done on 700 children from "at risk" homes. By all standards, they were clearly headed for troubled lives. They studied these kids for 40 years and discovered many kids bounce right out of the pre-conceived mold. Many from the worse homes and worse neighborhoods did not fail in life as they were supposed to.
Why is that? Why do many kids who grow up in great environments fail in life? I heard something this week that helped me understand the many unexplainable variables in life. Jim Rohn speaking on Network Marketing explained his idea of the law of sowing and reaping.
Go to the story of the sower in Mark 7 that Jesus used to explain this phenomenon.
Rohn said the sower went to the field where he sowed excellent seed in a field. It didn’t take long to see there were some problems: the first part of the seed fell by the wayside and the birds get it. First problem with sowing is that the birds are going to get some of the seed. What does that mean? Well, you’ve invited someone to church. He said he’d be there, but he never came. Next time you see him, you ask why he never came to Sunday school and he says, “Well, I was planning on it, but something came up and I forgot until it was too late to make it.” What just happened? … The birds (satan) came and stole the seed. It wasn't the sowers fault. He had thrown excellent seed, but the birds came. Good news is there is more seed than birds. Jesus was saying, “It’s just one of those things, but keep sowing and you will finally get a crop”.
According to the story, the sower kept on sowing. Then, the sower realized another problem: some of his seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. This time the little plant begins to grow. The man comes to church and it looks like he’s doing well, then something happens. The sun comes out and the heat killed the plant. He stops coming to church. The little plant did not have enough good soil to continue growing. The sower had not caused the problem. He had planted excellent seed, but it just happened to fall onto unproductive ground. Why do some just last a little while? It’s the soil the seed fell on. Some just don’t stay. Don’t worry and fret. Just keep sowing more seeds. Some just don’t stay.
Rohn said, "You can’t change that. It’s like rearranging the seasons. Summer, fall, winter, and spring just happen. You can’t change it. All you can do is cooperate with it. Some just don’t stay. If you didn’t do anything to run them off, it can be attributed to the normal course of things. “
As the story progresses, we see the secret to the sower’s success was his determination. He kept on sowing, but problems weren’t over yet.
Now, the little seeds fall on thorny ground and plants start to grow again. As the little plants grow, thorns start to choke them to death and they die. “Remember this,” Rohn said, “The thorns are going to get some. That was not of your making. The thorns will just get some. “
These quality seeds came up; looked good and appeared to be doing fine. Before long, though, the thorns (little cares like cleaning the garage, working too many hours, not having time for God, little distractions of all kinds), began to grow up around the little plant and began to choke it to death.
You say to the man, “We missed you in church last night.” And, he says, “Well, I can’t make every service.” You say, “Well, why not?” And, he says, “Well, I was just too busy. I had something I had to do.”
According to Jesus’ story, it just happens. The thorns are going to get some. Some people simply let little cares of life and little distractions cheat them out of great blessings. What can you do about this? Nothing, but pray. It’s just a thing that happens. The thorns are going to get some.
But, here’s the good news. The sower keeps sowing the seed; keeps on witnessing, and finally some of his seed falls on good ground. Rohn explained, “If you share good seed long enough, it will fall on good people.
“But, now, here is the rest of that story. Some of the good ground did 30%. Some of the good ground did 60% and some of the good ground did 100%. Why is that? … It’s just the way it is!”
You can’t get the 30s to do 60 or the 60s to do 100. He said, “Let the 30s do 30 to the best of their ability and the 60s do 60 to the best of their ability and let the 100s do 100 to the best of their ability.”
In the study of the 700 “at risk” kids, researchers found that religious beliefs and being part of a church where they were made to feel good about themselves was the key ingredient in pulling them from destructive lives. No wonder Jesus said, “Keep sowing the seed.” The birds will get some. The rocks will get some. The thorns will get some. But, keep sowing excellent seed because the 30-60-and 100 are out there, too. When they start growing, results follow.
© KPI 2013 |
Print
