Whenever we witness for the Lord, we are sowing seeds of faith. Sometimes the ground is receptive, and sometimes the ground is rocky, but the nature of the ground doesn't change the nature of the seed. Ancient date seeds found in Masada, Israel, believed to be from 2200-2300 B.C.E., were planted and successfully grown. The word of our witness can lay dormant because of the condition of the ground, yet still take root under the right conditions many years later.
Even when birds come and eat seeds, they are often expelled whole and end up growing somewhere else. Just because the ground is hard doesn't mean that nothing is going to result from our witness. Like Joseph's witness to Pharaoh's butler when he asked to be remembered (Genesis 40: 9-14), the seed of witness didn't sprout right away. Two years later the butler remembered the seed Joseph had planted by interpreting his dream. The seed took root, and Joseph was released from prison.
Jesus told the parable of the mustard seed and related it to the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 13:31-32. Even though the mustard seed is a very small seed, when it grows, it can produce a large tree that provides nesting for many birds. Sometimes we may think our witness isn't effective because it doesn't seem large, but like the mustard seed, if it takes root, it can grow and produce very large results.
We shouldn't evaluate our witnessing based on whether the ground seemed receptive or whether our witness seemed small. When we witness, we are planting seeds of faith that are not limited by the ground, time, or the size of the seed. Let's continue to witness and remember that we are sowing seeds of faith and that it is the Lord who give the increase (I Corinthians 3:6).
