“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground …”
—Mark 4:26, CSB
The sower doesn’t go looking for a better field. He just gets started.
Christians sometimes wait for exciting, dramatic, or extraordinary moments before choosing to act. And while these moments do come, this parable should reset our expectations. Sometimes we act simply because we trust God has placed us where we are.
When Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, He provided parables to help us ponder what His kingdom is like. In this parable, Jesus says the kingdom is like the whole parable itself: a sower scattering seed, rising and sleeping, watching the soil, preparing for the harvest, and jumping in when the time was right.
There is much to see, but this month we start where we should: at the beginning.
We see Jesus.
President Cooper challenged us to explore Jesus’ call to the brothers along the sea: “Follow me, and I will have you become fishers of people” (Mark 1:17b, NASB). This call to the brothers was the personal version of Jesus’ general call: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15b, NASB). We know the call was important and worth heeding because the Caller is important. Jesus is the one who can tell us about the kingdom, call us to the kingdom, and make us fit for service in the kingdom.
As we see Jesus and answer His call to follow, He transforms our lives. We step further into His reality, His kingdom, every day.
While there are parables that talk of seeking, finding, and redeeming, this parable starts as the sower scatters seed in the soil right in front of him. He doesn’t hold back. He doesn’t wait for the ideal. He doesn’t go searching for a better field. Instead, the sower sees he is already standing in a field. He already has seed in his hand. And so he sows.
As we enter this year of exploring the call to “Be Faithful in the Ordinary,” we start where Jesus’ parable begins: scattering seed on the ground.
Have you been holding back? Have you been waiting for the opportune moment?
Have you been expecting a call that would put Paul’s experience on the road to Damascus to shame? Clearly, there are times when God orchestrates those moments. But often, He has already put you in a field with His word and wisdom and with His Spirit as guide.
Where has God already placed you — with seed in your hand?
Be Faithful in the Ordinary is our 2027 General Conference theme. It’s one expression of the more complete idea: As we answer the call to follow Jesus and see our lives transformed by Him, we step into His reality every day through active, attentive waiting grounded in our absolute confidence in Him.
To explore where we’ve been and are going, visit https://gsdb.xyz/faithful for links to verses, devotions, other resources, and an overview of the full year.
