Episode Summary

In this episode, I reflect on Jesus’ Parable of the Sower from Matthew 13 and what it means for educators. Jesus describes a farmer scattering seed onto different kinds of soil, and I’m reminded that the farmer’s responsibility is to faithfully sow even though he cannot control what happens with every seed.

I connect that story directly to teaching because educators are constantly planting seeds. We plant knowledge, encouragement, curiosity, confidence, expectations, kindness, hope, and belief. Sometimes we get to see those seeds grow immediately, but other times the results may not become visible until years later.

I also reflect on how difficult that can be for teachers because we naturally want to know that our work matters. A student may not understand a lesson until the following year. They may not appreciate a boundary until they are older. They may not recognize the importance of an encouraging conversation until adulthood.

As I prepare for another week, I’m reminded that my responsibility is not to force growth. My responsibility is to faithfully create opportunities for growth. I may never see what becomes of every seed I plant, but that does not mean the planting was meaningless.

Show Notes

• Jesus’ Parable of the Sower
• Understanding the four kinds of soil
• Teachers as seed planters
• Planting knowledge, encouragement, and hope
• Why growth may take years to appear
• Faithfulness when results are not immediate
• Trusting that unseen seeds can still matter

Key Takeaways

• Teachers plant seeds every day.
• We cannot control how quickly every student grows.
• Some of our greatest impact may appear years later.
• Different students may be ready for different things at different times.
• Our responsibility is to faithfully create opportunities for growth.
• A seed can matter even when we never see the harvest.

This is Mr. Funky Teacher with BeAFunkyTeacher.com. I'm coming to you with another Be a Funky Teacher podcast.

Welcome back to Sunday School for Teachers.

Today's episode is called The Sower — Seeds You May Never See Grow.

Before we jump into today's reflection, I want to remind you what Sunday School for Teachers is really about.

This is a space each week for my Christian teacher friends, whether you teach in a public school or a private one, to slow down, breathe, and realign your heart with the One who called you to teach.

I have deep respect for all educators, including those who don't share my faith.

But on Sundays, I intentionally dedicate this episode to openly share how my faith in Jesus shapes me as a teacher, how it grounds me, stretches me, and reminds me that teaching is more than a career. It's a calling.

And I'm not a preacher.

I'm just a teacher learning, growing, and trying to let God work through me.

Because Monday is coming.

And before we step into another week, we pause here.

We remember who we are.

We remember Whose we are.

And we walk into the week anchored.

Before we dive into today's story, I want to pause and share three things that I'm thankful for.

The first thing that I'm thankful for is music.

For how a song can change your energy in a moment, bring back a memory, or simply make the day a little more enjoyable.

I'm thankful for music.

The second thing that I'm thankful for is being outdoors.

For fresh air, open space, and opportunities to get outside and experience the world around us.

And the third thing that I'm thankful for is good meals.

Not just food itself, but the chance to sit down, enjoy something good, and sometimes share that experience with other people.

All right, well, let's get into it.

Let's jump into the story.

Our story today comes from the book of Matthew, chapter 13, verses 1 through 23.

Today, we're looking at one of the parables of Jesus.

Before we get into it, let's make sure we understand what that means.

A parable is a simple story that Jesus uses to communicate a deeper spiritual truth.

Jesus often takes something ordinary that people understand—farming, fishing, money, families, seeds—and uses it to help people understand something much bigger.

This particular story begins beside the Sea of Galilee.

Jesus leaves a house and sits down by the water.

But such a large crowd gathers around Him that Jesus gets into a boat.

He sits in the boat while the people remain along the shore.

So picture that for a moment.

Jesus is sitting in a boat.

The crowd is gathering along the shoreline.

And Jesus begins teaching them.

He tells them a farmer went out to sow his seeds.

Now, when we hear the word sow, we're not talking about sewing something with a needle and thread.

To sow, spelled S-O-W, means to plant or scatter seeds.

And farming looked different in Jesus' time.

A farmer could walk through a field with a bag or container of seed and scatter that seed across the ground.

Not every seed landed in exactly the same kind of soil.

And that became the heart of Jesus' story.

Jesus describes four places where the seeds land.

The first place, some seeds fall along the path.

This ground has been walked on.

It's packed down.

It's hard.

The seed can't get beneath the surface.

And before anything can happen, birds come and eat it.

The seed never gets the opportunity to grow.

Now the second seed.

Other seed falls on rocky ground.

This doesn't necessarily mean a pile of rocks.

Think of shallow soil with rock underneath.

The seed begins growing quickly because there is some soil.

At first, everything looks promising.

A plant appears.

But it can't develop deep roots.

Then the sun comes out.

The heat hits.

And because those roots aren't deep enough, the plant withers.

It starts growing, but it can't last.

Now, the third seed.

Other seed falls among thorns.

This seed grows too.

But so do the thorns around it.

Eventually, those thorns crowd the plant.

They compete for space.

They compete for what the plant needs.

And the plant becomes choked out.

Again, there was growth, but something prevented that growth from becoming what it could have been.

The fourth seed.

Finally, some seed lands on good soil.

The seed takes root.

It grows.

It becomes productive.

And it produces a crop far greater than the original seed.

Same farmer.

Same kind of seed.

But very different results depending on where the seed lands.

Now, if Jesus had stopped there, we might be left wondering:

What exactly does all this mean?

Fortunately, later in Matthew chapter 13, Jesus explains the parable to His disciples.

The seed represents the message about God's kingdom.

And the different soil represents different ways people receive that message.

The seed on the hard path represents someone who hears the message but doesn't understand or receive it.

It never really takes root.

The rocky ground represents someone who receives the message with excitement at first.

But there are no deep roots.

When difficulty or trouble comes, that initial enthusiasm disappears.

The seed among the thorns represents someone who hears the message, but worries and the distractions of life begin crowding it out.

And then there's the good soil.

That represents someone who hears the message, understands it, receives it, and allows it to produce something in their life.

So this isn't really a farming lesson.

Jesus is talking about hearts.

He's talking about receiving truth.

He's talking about what happens after a seed has been planted.

So there's deeper meaning here.

There's something about this story that really stands out to me as an educator.

The farmer keeps sowing.

Think about that.

He doesn't control exactly what happens with every seed.

He scatters the seed faithfully.

Some doesn't grow.

Some starts and stops.

Some gets crowded out.

And some grows beyond what anyone might have expected.

The farmer's responsibility is to sow.

He can't force the seed to grow.

And I think teachers understand that better than almost anyone.

Because teaching involves a whole lot of planting.

Let's reflect on this as educators.

Teaching involves a whole lot of planting all the time.

That's our job.

We plant knowledge.

We plant encouragement.

We plant curiosity and confidence.

We plant expectations, kindness, and belief.

And sometimes we get to see the growth.

A student finally understands something.

A student who is a struggling reader starts believing in themselves.

A child makes a better choice because of a conversation you had.

Those moments are incredible.

But there are other times when we plant something and nothing seems to happen.

At least not while the student is sitting in our classroom.

And that's hard.

Teachers like results.

We want to know that what we're doing matters.

But some seeds take longer than a school year to grow.

A student may not understand something you taught them until next year.

Maybe not until years later.

They may not appreciate the boundary you held until they're older.

They may not remember every lesson you taught.

But years from now, they may remember that one adult believed in them.

You might plant a seed in fifth grade that doesn't fully grow until high school or college.

You might plant a seed in first grade that might not fully grow until they're in their 30s or 40s.

And you may never even know it happened.

So let's look at the practical classroom application here.

What does this look like for us as educators?

It means we keep planting.

We teach the lesson again.

We offer encouragement.

We ask another question.

We give another opportunity.

We model kindness.

We remind a student:

"I believe in you."

And we understand something important.

Not every student is in the same place.

One student may be ready to receive something today.

Another may not be ready yet.

That doesn't mean we stop planting.

And it doesn't mean we blame ourselves for every seed that doesn't immediately grow.

Our job is not to force growth.

Our job is to faithfully create opportunities for growth.

As I close here, I think one of the most beautiful things about teaching is that we are seed planters every day.

Sometimes we see the harvest.

Sometimes somebody else sees it years later.

And sometimes we may never know what became of a seed we planted.

But that doesn't mean planting the seed was meaningless.

Jesus reminds us that seeds matter.

So keep planting encouragement.

Keep planting knowledge.

Keep planting hope.

Keep planting belief.

Because somewhere along the way, one of those seeds may land exactly where it needs to.

And it may grow into something far greater than you ever get to see.

Will you pray with me?

Lord, thank You for allowing us to plant seeds in the lives of young people.

Help all of us, the funky teachers listening, remain faithful when we don't immediately see the results of our work.

Give us patience with students who aren't ready yet.

Give us wisdom to know what they need.

Help us continue planting knowledge, encouragement, kindness, hope, and belief.

And when we don't get to see the growth ourselves, help us trust that the seeds we plant can still matter.

Help us be faithful with the opportunities You've given us.

Amen.

As you go into your week ahead, I want you to remember to inspire greatness in young people.

And don't forget to be a funky teacher.

Bye now.