“He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” (Mark 4:27-28)

The parables in Mark 4:26-34 remind us of the necessity of preaching the Gospel. The problem that most of us do not do it at all or make feeble attempts at it. We often feel that we are not good evangelists, so why bother? We think we have to win the lost over right away, that we have to be like salesmen who have to work hard to seal the deal before the person walks out. But these two parables, as well as the one in the excerpt from Ezekiel 17:26-34 show us otherwise. We are not the ones sowing the seed of the gospel nor are we the ones who make that seed grow and bear fruit: the Holy Spirit is. Along the way He uses us to accomplish the steps in the process, but the who, where, when and how is up to Him, not us.

When we realize this, we should feel some of the pressure taken off of us. What we have to do is place ourselves at the Lord’s disposal. We do so by being a loving friend, neighbor or relative right where we are. One way we can do this is by striking up conversations with people about almost anything and in any place: the doctor’s office, the supermarket, the coffee shop, the park, the mall, out in our neighborhood streets, or wherever we go. These can all be divine appointments that God has with people that He desires to reach and in which He uses us to do His work. We become friends with people and eventually, in God’s time, the Holy Spirit provides the right opportunity and the right words that will touch that person and lead them to repentance. Other Christians may be involved in that process anywhere along the line, but it is always the Holy Spirit who produces the fruit.