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SPROUTING SOULS
They also serve who simply drop the seed of the Word

A Commentary by Constance Vanides

"The seed is the word of God." (Luke 8:11)

It was curious. Once a popular feeding trough for our backyard birds, the feeder, although well-stocked with black sunflower seeds, no longer was the gathering for competing birds. We went outside to take a peek. On closer inspection we found the seeds, dampened by recent rains and warmed by the early spring sun, now sprouting stems and leaves!

It was a vivid reminder of the Spiritual gift, word of knowledge, spoken directly to my husband Tom and me...

It had been a time of decision for us. The question in both our minds, thinking independently but never expressed, was, "After five years in a church that makes us so uncomfortable, why don't we just leave and find a place more to our liking?" The question persisted, still unspoken, as we drove one afternoon to a prayer meeting where a few pastors and lay leaders, none from our congregation, would be gathering. Some we had never met.

We sat in the small room with the others. Before the meeting could even begin, the small gray-haired pastor from another denomination practically jumped from his seat, animatedly pointed his finger at Tom and me and boldly said, "Under NO circumstances are you to leave that church! You are seed corn!" We were astonished because we hadn't said anything about leaving the church to anyone, not even to each other! Besides, we didn't know what he meant. Since we were both "city folk", he explained that seed corn is the seed that is planted in order to grow crops.

Then we understood this was God's way of directing us to continue where we were, sowing the truths of His word so they may germinate and grow.

We not only became members of that church, we participated in prayer groups, led bible studies, shared the messages the Lord had given me (many of which are on this web site), served coffee after worship times, fellowshipped and were elected church officers! In short, we were obedient. We followed as the Lord directed.

God would bring others to fertilize, water, till the soil and hopefully harvest the crop!

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