Sowing the Seeds of Love

God often uses secular songs to minister to me. This past Wednesday I had a dream in which I was watching a revised music video of the 1989 Tears For Fears hit “Sowing the Seeds of Love.” One of the lyrics had been changed by mentioning the Lord. When I woke up, I perceived this dream was direction to go evangelizing that day (I had stayed home the previous two days fasting and praying). Later that evening, I got blessed with a huge amount of gospel tracts.

I also recalled a prophetic word I received five years ago in which I was compared to Johnny Appleseed. This 19th Century missionary lived a nomadic lifestyle planting apple orchards in Pennsylvania, Ontario, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, as well as the northern counties of present-day West Virginia. A popular legend is that Johnny randomly planted apple seeds without seeing the fruits of his labor.

Although I’ve prayed with thousands of people to receive salvation, I’ve also planted countless seeds through gospel tracts. Many times I will hand someone a tract without engaging them in a conversation. I’ve also placed tracts on bulletin boards, in bus shelters, telephone booths, ATM machines and other places for someone to read later. Tracts are like “little preachers” that can reach people in places we otherwise wouldn’t have access to.

In the Parable of the Sower (Mark chapter 4), Jesus compared the word of God to natural seeds. Not all of them will eventually produce a harvest. Man has a free will and can still choose to reject the gift of eternal life. Nevertheless, our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15:58) as long as we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).

Even if you're not yet comfortable sharing the gospel one-on-one with people, you can at least do your part in obeying the Great Commission by handing out gospel tracts. One piece of literature could initiate a change that would alter a person’s eternal destiny and deliver the reader from hell to heaven. Even simply telling people “Jesus loves you” is a seed that can bear fruit. 

Go sow some seeds of love today!

“having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever” - 1 Peter 1:23

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