The Parable of the Sower & the Story of an Educator
We live in rural Missouri and have the beauty of nature, of trees, and of fields all around us. Dark, rich, fertile soil is truly something to behold and something we may take for granted. I personally love to get my hands and fingers dirty in the soil when working in my garden or doing yard work. Jesus knew that the people he was talking to in Matthew 13 also knew the joy of growing things and working in the dirt. Yet when he shared this parable with them, it had nothing to do with getting their hands dirty or working with the ground. It had everything to do with the seeds and specifically the planting of them.
When Jesus was telling this parable (this story) he talked about how the farmer went out to sow. As he was scattering the seeds, some fell along the path and the birds ate them up. Some fell on rocky places where it had a bit of soil, but because it wasn’t deep soil, it sprouted up quickly, the roots were shallow, the plants were scorched in the sun and quickly died. There were other seeds that fell among the thorns, the weeds ultimately choked the plants. And finally the other seeds fell on good, fertile, rich soil, where it produced a crop. This crop was a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Then Jesus ends his story with these challenging words, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
As a Pure Freedom Educator, each day we enter a classroom and share the curriculum with them, we are planting seeds. We are planting seeds of truth about healthy/unhealthy relationships, planting seeds of sexual abuse prevention and sexual risk avoidance, planting seeds of setting healthy boundaries and basic needs of the heart, planting seeds of STI & pregnancy symptoms. We are in the business of planting seeds, changing lives, challenging our students, and spreading the truth wholeheartedly. Similar to Jesus’ story, we also say and pray, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” We know that some students receive our words and are thankful for our presence. We know that some students listen, but question it. We also know that some students reject our presence and refuse to listen to our words
Which leads me straight to Daniel 3:18 “But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” Daniel was saying to the King, we serve a God who can deliver us from a burning furnace if needed, but even if he chooses not to, we will still only serve Him. The words, even if, resonate in my heart and mind after a week at a very challenging school.
Even if the students are disrespectful. Even if students are not paying attention.
Even if it seems that no one cares about the message we are passionately sharing, I will not stop proclaiming the truth, because we do know that God is worthy, we do know that the students are worthy of hearing the truth, we do know that this message needs to be taught.
We write this to you, because your support financially, emotionally and spiritually matters.
We need your prayers as we continue to enter new schools, new classrooms and meet new students. We need your support so we can keep spreading this message to many students. Because with your support and prayers, together we can continue planting seeds, even if…
Lord, we pray that you would continue to open doors for Pure Freedom. We pray that you would soften the hearts of the youth, so that they can truly hear the message of truth. We pray that “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Lynae McFarland
Sower of Truth
Pure Freedom Educator
