And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word, welcome it, and produce fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.
Mark 4:20
Jesus told a parable that presents a great picture of your job this summer.
Whatever your role you are sort of like the sower, because you are contributing in some way to the planting of God’s word.
You may have already noticed that there are various responses to the truth that is proclaimed at camp. Some campers have a disinterested look on their faces all week long. They seem not to care at all about their sin, the worship of God, or the love of Christ. As soon as devotions are over they are scheming with their friends. Jesus called them seed that lands on the wayside path.
Some campers seem to take an interest in spiritual things. They ask you questions at night about heaven and church. But you observe them the next morning reverting back to their self-centered ways and hurtful words. Jesus called them seed that lands on the rocky ground.
Some campers seem to be concerned about gaining an assurance of salvation. They desire to appease their guilty consciences and spend time in prayer. But as concerned as they are about these things they eventually become more caught up with the things of the world—music, friends, Instagram, clothing, superheroes, baseball scores—at least as much as they can at camp. Jesus called them seed that lands upon the thorns.
Some campers hear and respond with joy and sincerity. You begin to see godly fruit in their lives. They genuinely care about what God thinks. Jesus called them seed that lands on good ground.
Yes, you are a sower.
And you can probably identify lots of campers who fit into each of these categories. As the sower your job is just to cast the seed of the word of God as faithfully as you can.
But this parable also asks a great question about yourself. In some ways this is far more important than understanding how you are a sower. The question that confronts you is, Which seed are you?