sowing seeds: what does it mean

[growinginJesus]

i have always thought that sowing  a good seed was a act of kindness or something that you do for a person that is nice in general......am i wrong to think that way? i mean it also says you reap what you sow.......i have always understood it as you get what you give....but is there another meaning in the scripture......not to say this is a favor where you do something to get something later on...but something you do from your heart for another person is that what planting a good seed is all about.....just checking my understanding of the bible, hope to hear your thoughts....

[enoob57]

The Lord tells us what the seed is

Luke 8:11

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
KJV
 

[Mike Mclees]

37 minutes ago, growinginJesus said:

i have always thought that sowing  a good seed was a act of kindness or something that you do for a person that is nice in general......am i wrong to think that way? i mean it also says you reap what you sow.......i have always understood it as you get what you give....but is there another meaning in the scripture......not to say this is a favor where you do something to get something later on...but something you do from your heart for another person is that what planting a good seed is all about.....just checking my understanding of the bible, hope to hear your thoughts....

Sowing seeds is to spread the gospel of  Christ. It is not about good deeds though people should see the changes of character that matches with the kind of witness you now walk. Good deeds is a fruit of Christs spirit in you.

[AnOrangeCat]

It can be used in a lot of ways. Sowing seeds is a good metaphor for anything that yields results after a period of time. So you do have to look at the context of the verses any given use of the phrase to get a good idea of the meaning.

[GandalfTheWise]

42 minutes ago, growinginJesus said:

i have always thought that sowing  a good seed was a act of kindness or something that you do for a person that is nice in general......am i wrong to think that way? i mean it also says you reap what you sow.......i have always understood it as you get what you give....but is there another meaning in the scripture......not to say this is a favor where you do something to get something later on...but something you do from your heart for another person is that what planting a good seed is all about.....just checking my understanding of the bible, hope to hear your thoughts....

Often in scripture, God's prophets and teachers used metaphors, allegories, similes, and the various other terms used for such things to get a point across.  Given the common agrarian background of most hearers and listeners, it makes sense that many agricultural examples were used.   You list examples for which a seed being planted and growing is a good analogy.   For example, there is the general truth that the way you live your life will have consequences.  A good agricultural allegory for that is reaping what you sow.  If you plant corn seeds, you'll get a corn crop.  If you plant apple seeds, you'll get an apple tree.  If you plant weed seeds, you'll get weeds.   Another example is that sometimes God's prophets likened Israel being planted in some way by God and then growing to bear fruit.   I've heard many teachers and preachers use planting and harvesting as analogies for various ideas they are trying to get across.  I've heard many Christians use "planting seeds" as an analogy for any deeds, words, or actions we do that might influence someone for Christ with the idea that even if they did not react or respond immediately that the Holy Spirit will use those things to slowly grow into something larger.

For any particular Bible use of the example of planting seeds, I'd look at the context of the particular passage to get the main idea.  I'd usually be careful to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples when looking at the use of planting seeds from one passage to another.

I should also comment I've heard it used in questionable ways.  E.g. the radio or TV preacher who calls a donation "planting a seed" that God will then grow and send you some type of tangible blessing in return and spends excessive time each show talking about the important of planting seeds.

[johnthebaptist]

2 hours ago, growinginJesus said:

i have always thought that sowing  a good seed was a act of kindness or something that you do for a person that is nice in general......am i wrong to think that way? i mean it also says you reap what you sow.......i have always understood it as you get what you give....but is there another meaning in the scripture......not to say this is a favor where you do something to get something later on...but something you do from your heart for another person is that what planting a good seed is all about.....just checking my understanding of the bible, hope to hear your thoughts....

Our actions have consequences. We want to do things that will have positive results. That would include acts of kindness.

[Jostler]

On 6/28/2019 at 1:20 PM, growinginJesus said:

i have always thought that sowing  a good seed was a act of kindness or something that you do for a person that is nice in general......am i wrong to think that way? i mean it also says you reap what you sow.......i have always understood it as you get what you give....but is there another meaning in the scripture......not to say this is a favor where you do something to get something later on...but something you do from your heart for another person is that what planting a good seed is all about.....just checking my understanding of the bible, hope to hear your thoughts....

Seedtime and harvest are natural principles with spiritual implications He thought were so  important for us to understand He established  it in nature  so  we could have daily exposure to knowledge of Him through His creation.

Important enough He  began to explain it in the account of creation:

Quote

Gen 1:11-12

¶

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth”; and it was so.  And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

He  begins by proclaiming  that  seed is produced by plants, and those plants (herbs and grasses) will produce seed that grow into the same "kind" as the  plant  it came from.  Fruit bearing plants have their seed  in the fruit, and also bear "after their own kind".

 

The terminology is extended by implication to all living "flesh creatures" (read to the end of the  chapter for the inclusion of land dwelling creatures and man himself)

Quote

Gen 1:24

¶

Then God said, “Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind”; and it was so.

 

After inferring it, He established His inclusion  of mankind as bearing seed and adds that "proof" to His already  expressed intention that seed should bear after it's own kind, after the fall  of man.

Quote

Gen 3:15

And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”

and satan has seed.....this  is the starting place for understanding what satan attempted to do before the flood, and in our day.  The "seed of the serpent", the 'bloodline' breeding program satan has been nursing to a conclusion literally since Nimrod....for millenia...and what he intends to accomplish  by it, and how  God plans to respond to it.  Very relevant topics for our understanding in this day.

 

And Jesus made this astonishing statement about the  importance of seed symbolism in understanding spiritual reality:

Quote

Mar 4:13

¶

And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

If you read that whole chapter, you'll find the context is the "parable of the  sower".  And He uses that to explain how seedtime and harvest apply to the Word of God.  Later He explains how the  principle applies to the Kingdom of God.  But evidently understanding  the principles  of sowing and reaping is so important, we can't understand ANY  parables without understanding this seed time and harvest example.

 

Here Jesus explains the  relationship between seeds and physical death.  You won't understand "eternal judgement" until you understand this  one either.  Jesus said He  IS a seed, and that He had to be "planted" (a seed dies when it is planted, and out  of  that  death  new life is brought forth).

Quote

Jhn 12:23-25

Jesus replied, "The time has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.  I tell you the solemn truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces much grain.  The one who loves his life destroys it, and the one who hates his life in this world guards it for eternal life.

 

If He was a seed, so are we:

Quote

1Co 15:35-44

¶

But someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”  Foolish one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies.  And what you sow, you do not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain.  But God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.

 

¶

All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds.

 

¶

There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.  There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.

 

¶

So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.  It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.  It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

We are seeds....

 

That may have been more information than you wanted, and it's far short of all  there is to  find.  But what seeds represent is  a big  topic and poorly understood for the importance it holds.

 

Quote

Gen 8:22

“While the earth remains,
Seedtime and harvest,
Cold and heat,
Winter and summer,
And day and night
Shall not cease.”

 

Edited June 30, 2019 by Jostler

[Willa]

Sowing seeds of the Gospel, of God's word can be done in many ways.  It can be through a testimony or through music.  It is planting an idea that may someday lead the person to salvation.  Paul said:

 1Co 3:6   I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.

 1Co 3:7  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.

Doing good deeds can be effective if you give the glory to God, telling the person that helping people is something you want to do since you became a Christian.  Or if they thank you, tell them to thank God who prompted you to help.  Otherwise they just think you are well mannered--you parents taught you well.

 

 

[Prycejosh1987]

On 6/28/2019 at 9:20 PM, growinginJesus said:

i have always thought that sowing  a good seed was a act of kindness or something that you do for a person that is nice in general......am i wrong to think that way? i mean it also says you reap what you sow.......i have always understood it as you get what you give....but is there another meaning in the scripture......not to say this is a favor where you do something to get something later on...but something you do from your heart for another person is that what planting a good seed is all about.....just checking my understanding of the bible, hope to hear your thoughts....

It is literal, technical and hypothetical. 

Edited July 12, 2020 by Prycejosh1987