Saturday 5, September 2026

Recently, I heard someone quote a church Mathematical formula. I couldn’t catch the source, but the formula applies the multiplication principle: in any church, some subtract, divide, add, or multiply. I was struck, for it begs the question, ‘Which am I?’ I also found it very applicable to our reflections on the sower’s dilemma. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat

Mark 4:8 NIV

[8] Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

The Sower’s Dilemma 4

No sower actually seeks to sow seeds for zero yield, especially on a farm or vineyard. Genetically modified seeds may not naturally grow more trees, but they too are intended to increase yield. In God’s vineyard, however, all aspects of the church multiplication formula are in place, and with a sower like ours in the parable, we might have already lost hope for any fruit.

Self-Check

How quickly do we lose hope when our context seems to lean primarily toward subtraction and division?

Digging Deeper

Siblings, after three crops that died before yielding fruit, the sower finally had one crop that offered a return on his investment. With thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold fruitfulness, the sower still had more fruit than the total number of seeds at the beginning. That’s cause for celebration.

Some of us fail to see the point of the celebration; the sower lost so much more potential yield. And that is true. But everything wasn’t lost. We recognise that the sower’s technique was unorthodox, but it did produce more than was sown. We believe the sower should have focused solely on the fertile soil, but NO soil was left behind.

Siblings, when we see God as the sower, we must recognise that every soil represents a soul. Therefore, there is potential for every soul to be fertile soil.

Can you imagine if Jesus had our attitude and treated the woman at the well like sidewalk?

That was fertile soil right there.

For years, Nicodemus the Pharisee presented as God soil. Yet, he didn’t prove to be as fertile till after the crucifixion!

Those two examples from John 4 and 3 show that if God entrusted us to scatter the seed, we honestly don’t know in advance who will remain faithful.

Jesus knew that Judas would betray Him, yet He invested in him. Judas was among the Twelve in Luke 9. He may even have introduced others to Christ.

There’s a major lesson there, siblings. It is not our task to judge; ours is to do God’s work while we’re alive to complete it (see John 9:4). If we see God as both the vineyard owner and the Sower, we realise that the Sower doesn’t really have a dilemma with scattering seed. Rather, the Sower’s real dilemma is with the labourers – you and me – turning up for work. Will we?

Point to Ponder

Paul’s comment to the Corinthians is so very apt today. God gets the increase. Whatever we do in God’s vineyard is for God’s glory. So let us weed, plough, and even scatter seed as directed by Christ. Selah

—

May all we seek be found in Christ