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Music Camp Closing

August 12, 2007

Matthew 13:1-9

 

TOUGH TO BE TENDER

 

Matthew 13

Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed

1 Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.  2 A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.  3 He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

   “Listen!  A farmer went out to plant some seeds.  4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.  5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock.  The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.  6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died.  7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants.  8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!  9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

Here Jesus is at the shore of the lake.

 He is sitting in a boat.

  And He tells a story about a farmer.

   If it had been me I would have probably talked about fishing.

    Maybe written a musical about life at the river.

     But Jesus talks about life on the farm from the perspective of the seed.

      Seeds are what farming is all about anyway.

       If you don’t have seeds you don’t have much of a farm.

        Some of the seeds Jesus talked about didn’t have much going for them.

         They really tried hard.

          They wanted to grow.

           But they just weren’t given a chance.

            Some were eaten by birds.

             Some scorched by the sun.

              But I want us to look at seed with the thorns.

               The seeds germinated into a beautiful, tender plant.

               But weeds got hold of those tender plants and choked them.

                The weeds choked the life right out of those tender baby plants.

                 They held so much promise.

                  But it never developed.

It is a strange world in which we live.

 To have a fruitful tree there must first be a tender plant.

  I brought three oak trees home from the cottage last year.

   After I dug them up I put each one into a one quart milk container.

    They were so young they still had acorns attached to their roots.

     The first thing I did when we got home was plant those oak trees.

      And I looked after them.

       I kept the weeds away from them.

        I watered them.

         I protected them.

          During the winter I put one gallon plant pots over them

           I did not want them to be crushed by the snow.

           Nor did I want mice eating them.

            One survived the winter.

             And so I continue to care for it.

              Early spring I tied an orange ribbon around its tiny trunk.

               It was just a twig that could have been stepped on.

                I put a stick in the ground beside it.

                 It is still too short to tie up, but it is growing leaves.

                  The weeds keep coming back and I pull them out.

                   I want this tender plant to become a mighty oak.

                    My pansies are bigger than this oak tree.

                     But someday it will tower over everything else.

                      I’ll not see that day, but hopefully someone will.

For a plant to be fruitful it first has to be tender.

 And that is the problem.

  To be tender makes something vulnerable.

   For a person to be an adult they must first be a child.

    If we help our children through the tender years the harvest will follow.

Paul says in Philippians 2:1-2, “Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ?  Any comfort from his love?  Any fellowship together in the Spirit?  Are your hearts tender and compassionate?  Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.”

     We must care for our children and nurture their faith.

      To do that we must maintain a degree of tenderness ourselves.

       We must have the mind of Christ.

        Only then can we properly care for the tender shoots of life in a child.

         I’m sure you have seen this reading before.

“If a child lives with criticism, he learns to condemn.

If a child lives with hostility, he learns to fight.

If a child lives with fear, he learns to be apprehensive.

If a child lives with jealousy, he learns to feel guilty.

If a child lives with tolerance, he learns to be patient.

If a child lives with encouragement, he learns to be confident.

If a child lives with praise, he learns to be appreciative.

If a child lives with acceptance, he learns to love.

If a child lives with approval, he learns to like himself.

If a child lives with recognition, he learns it is good to have a goal.

If a child lives with honesty, he learns what truth is.

If a child lives with fairness, he learns justice.

If a child lives with security, he learns to have faith in himself and others.

If a child lives with friendliness, he learns the world is a nice place in which to live.”

          James 5:11 tells us, “the Lord is full of tenderness and mercy.”

Let’s not be birds that pick and peck away.

 Let’s not be the sun that scorches.

  Let’s not be the weeds that destroy the creativity.

   Let’s be the good soil so our children grow through tenderness into

   fruitfulness.

    Let’s treat them with the mind of Christ.

     They are well on their way.

      Let’s be the caring hands, the fertile soil, the healing rain.

       It is Tough to be Tender.

        Let’s help a child through by teaching them the love of Jesus.

         The fruit is just beginning to show.