The farmer plants the seeds in the soil and waits for the product to reach full maturity. A few things can be done to speed up the growth process but the main means for growth to take place is to wait until it's time. In the end, it is the farmer's patience that does more for the crop than all the other things combined can do. Patience will pay off.

This parable is not mainly about patience. It is about hearing and accepting and bearing fruit as part of the kingdom of God. The seeds are sown on the soil and as the soil receives them they produce what they are capable of producing. Implied in the parable is the sower's patience that gives the seeds a good chance to grow and produce.

Some can't produce because the ground is too messed up from frequent use. Some can't produce because there are too many rocks and stones in the way. Some can't produce because the weeds and thorns strangle them before they can grow up. Oh, but there are some that fell on just the right kind of soil and these grow to full maturity. The farmer knows that and waits for the growth to take place. He fertilizes. He cultivates. The seeds and young plants are watered. In the end, the farmer waits and waits until the full crop appears. And finally the crop comes; some yielding a hundred, some sixty and some thirty times what was sown. Patience will pay off.

In life, this patience gives us the same kind of dividends that the farmer gets when he waits for the result to come. We can get what we need and want in this life when we are patient enough to wait for it to come about.

The soil upon which seeds fall that produce the most growth is described as "good soil". It has the character and make-up to support and encourage growth. This "good soil" is reminiscent of God's response to creation... when God, after each act of creation, pronounced it "good". It had God's stamp on it. It had God's image in it. It was good because God made it that way.

We know now from Biblical history and theology that some parts of the creation didn't stay good long. Humankind became disobedient and rebellious. Human power over the rest of creation has destroyed some of the goodness and beauty of other parts of creation.

But through it all God has been patient with us. God has given us chance after chance to amend our ways, and return to the good state in which we were created. Ultimately, in Jesus, God has sought to recompose us after the likeness of the "good soil".

God is patient with us. Jesus prays for us. Yet, for some reason unknown even to ourselves, we choose to be like the three other soils in the parable, unable to sustain growth or produce fruit because of our alienation from God the source of goodness, truth, beauty, justice, mercy and love.

God's desire however is that the patience God has shown with us will once again become a part of our lives. It is this patience that we need today to ward off the destruction of the natural beauty of the earth; to ward off the enmity between nations, races, cultures and classes; to ward the anxiety, stress and depression that affects a large number of people among us. It is this patience that we need to grow in the faith. Patience will pay off in the end.

There is some pastor out there... doing the best you can to bring the gospel to life among your people. You study, you meditate, you pray and you preach. Yet, you see no growth or little at best. Don't give up. The "good soil" is there. God's word will not come back void. Patience will pay off.

There is some teacher out there... pouring your heart out for students who sometimes act as if they don't care. You give your best effort. You prepare the best lesson you can. You are on the job with enthusiasm and concern. Don't you give up. There is hope. All of the ground is not infertile. Someone will catch on. Someone will accept the help you give. Patience will pay off.

There is some parent out there burdened with a child who has turned indifferent. The more you do the less they respond. You go the extra mile just so they can have chance at success. It looks like nothing worthwhile is going to happen. "If you could just get that child to put his or her head on straight". Don't stop. There is a place in his life that the gospel can touch. When it does the growth can't be stopped. Patience will pay off.

You see, my friends, the gospel we carry is God's gospel. It is not ours. And it's ultimately up to God to cause the growth. Oh, how right the Apostle Paul was, " God gives the growth". God does not try to be successful - just faithful. If, with patience, we keep sowing the seeds of the gospel, it will reach fertile ground somewhere. Patience will pay off.

What is an obscure lesson in this parable is that most of seeds do fall on good soil. No experienced farmer would ever throw seed where they know that it cannot grow. There are some rocks, some thorns, some frequently walked on area, but for the most part the soil is generally good. That's true of life. Most teenagers don't use drugs. Most men don't beat their wives. One is too many, but most don't. Most of us are not cruel. Most of us try to be good neighbors. Most of us are good parents. Most of us do our best to get along. It is not time to quit just because of the few who just won't do right no matter what. We must help get the gospel out to them. We must spread it wherever there is a chance for it to grow. That will take patience and patience will pay off. What does it take to attain and to retain the patience we need in the world today?

It takes listening skills. "He who has an ear let him hear..." Oh how crucial and critical it is for us to listen to one another. It is even more important for us to listen to God. We may just be guilty of talking too much and listening too little.

We are not likely to reach someone with the gospel when we are doing most of the talking. People need to be heard. They need to be reasoned with not reckoned with. People who are seeking understanding need to be understood. We need to know where the pain is most persistent. We need to know what hurts. We need to know what is their "dark night of the soul".

Ezekiel the prophet sought to better understand the people he had been called to lead. In order to do that he says, "I sat where they sat." It takes that today to reach those burdened with the cares of life. It takes that today to minister to those who have "fighting within and fears without". The gospel comes to us because God listens to us. Remember the Hebrews in Egypt, burdened with the yoke of oppression, strapped with the chains of slavery, and beaten down with fists of ruthless rulers. But God declared, "I have heard their cry..." God listened and God acted.

The world cried out for a Savior. God heard the cry and sent the Son to set us free. Because of Christ we never have to be in bondage again. When the Son sets you free you will be free indeed. God did not ignore us. God listened to us.

It's time for us as the people of God to start listening to one another. Patience will not come and it will not last long if we don't listen. Parents... are we listening to our children or just shouting orders? Spouses... are we listening to each other or just going along to get along? Employers... are you listening to your workers or just planning ways to increase profit? Listening is a part of patience that is essential for us to produce the fruit God has given us the capacity to. We must listen more.

To get the patience we need for living today also requires learning skills. When we stop learning, we stop growing. No one becomes a successful farmer over night. It takes years of experience learning the ends and outs of the trade. The farmer studies the methods and traditions of his times and of others that have been successful. It takes years. One generation learns from the next.

While we are waiting for God to produce fruit in our lives what we learn during that time is essential to our continuous growth and development as Disciples of Christ. In fact, that is what a disciple is, a learner, a student, one who sits under the teachings of someone with superior knowledge and integrity.

We learn from Jesus more than anyone else the ways of discipleship. In fact, Jesus invites us "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..." (11:28) We learn from Jesus the way to handle distress. We learn from Jesus the way to handle anxiety. We learn from Jesus the way to treat other people, friends and foe alike. We learn from Jesus the way to worship. We learn from Jesus the way to minister to those in need. We learn from Jesus the way to be born again. We learn from Jesus the way to be patient. And patience will pay off. We are to always be a learner.

It takes listening skills, it takes learning skills and finally it takes loving skills to become patient. The farmer who just is in the business to be there may make a profit, but he will never reach the level he can unless he loves what he is doing.

My heart goes out to the farmers of the world who put their all into producing crops that will benefit so many people. We are in debt to those who rise before the sun and work in the heat of the day so that all of us can have safe and nutritious food to eat. It is a labor of love for those who are good at it.

Oh that we could love one another the way the good farmer loves his work. If we did, the patience that we need, would become a natural part of what we do. In God's great love hymn, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul says to us with resounding clarity "Love is patient." It is willing and able to wait. It does not look for a quick fix. It does not judge. It only wants the best for the loved and is willing to wait until it comes about.

God loves us that way. "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). In spite of our rebellion and resistance, Christ died for us. In spite of our profane and pompous ways Christ died for us. In spite of our betrayal and boastful nature Christ died for us. The just for the unjust. The holy for the unholy. God proved God's love for us with the gift of the Son.

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present for to small;
Love so amazing, so divine!
Demands my soul, my life, my all (Watts)

Love is patient. God's love for us and our love for each other produces the patience in us needed to bring about the results we desire.

We like the farmer plant the seed, wait for the product to come, listening, learning and loving the yield is great because in the end patience will pay off.

Amen.