[3] “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. [5] Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. [6] And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. [7] Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. [8] And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” [9] And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:3-9

At my bike shop, More Better Bikes, I hire high school and college students. There are 15 of them: 3 girls and 12 boys. Every Wednesday we have a shop team meeting. All the employees and some volunteers attend the 30 minute meeting for shop updates, pizza and inspiration. 

Recently we’ve been talking about values. We set out to define our values as a shop. I reminded them that values are like priorities; they’re not what you say, they’re what you do, what other people say about you. We came up with these four: Quality Service, Friendliness, Generosity and Knowledge. 

At last week’s team meeting I asked them what their values are as a person. “Family, friends, money, solitude” were some of their answers. Then I asked them a surprising question, “What do you think God values?” I waited a few seconds to let them think, then I asked, “Kam, what do you think God values?” “Um, I’m not really into religion”, he said. “That’s okay”, I responded, “Suppose there is a God who created everything, based on what you see, what would you think He values?” “Hmm, maybe beauty?” “Yes!”, I said. What else? Alex offered, “What about order and creativity?” Good answer. Then I said, “Think deeply for a minute about what I’m going to tell you next. What if I told you that one of God’s greatest values is…you.” I paused and let that sink in. Then I continued, “God values you. He knows you intimately and cherishes you just as you are.”

Then, before anyone could say anything, I challenged them with this, “If what I just said is true, even if you’re not religious or believe in God, what might happen if you gave a little tiny shred of time to exploring that possibility?” “What I’m suggesting and challenging you with is that you take some time in your day, even 5 minutes, and give some thought to that proposition.” “Give it a week, five minutes a day”. And then to help them get started I suggested they visit the website, BibleProject.com.

I know better than to expect that they’d jump on my suggestion, so I’m giving it a couple weeks and I’ll bring it up again. It’s a seed.

The gospel of Mark records Jesus talking about the sower of seeds. The gospel is like a seed, some people receive it, some reject it and some loose it in the chaos of life. But it has to be planted. We are the planters (sowers) of the seed of the gospel. I’ve recommended BibleProject.com to many people as a seed. It’s a valuable resource devoted to making the Bible accessible and understandable to the world. I commend it to you. It’s an easy seed to plant.

Prayer

Sometimes, God, my heart aches for people I care about to know You. Thank You for others who care about people knowing You. Thanks for the people behind BibleProject.com. They are creative communicators sowing seeds everyday. I am grateful to be able to use their resource to sow my own seeds in lives of others. Let those seeds take root and grow. For their good and Your glory, I pray. Amen.

By Rev. Kim Skattum

Pastor to Pastors

American Baptist Churches of the Rocky Mountains