............ SOWING A SEED IN SOMEONE'S HEART ............
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While driving along one of the Garden City's streets this afternoon, I saw a sign outside a Church which boldly stated “Thinking seeds.” The appointed Gospel for this coming Sunday is the Parable of the Sower as told from Matthew’s perspective. 
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That Church sign got me to thinking thoughts about “seeds” and recalling a wonderful story of how we often sow seeds and never know the outcome.
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H.L. Gee, a prolific English writer, in one of his books relates this story. In the Church where Gee worshipped there was a lonely old man, he was known as “Old Thomas”. Thomas had outlived all his friends and hardly anyone knew him. Thomas died. H.L. Gee had the feeling that there would be no one to go to the funeral so he decided to go, so that someone might follow old Thomas to his last resting place.
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There was no-one; and it was a wild, wet day. The funeral reached the cemetery; it was during the war; and at the gate there was a soldier waiting. He was an officer, but on his raincoat there were no rank badges. The soldier came to the grave-side for the ceremony; when it was over he stepped forward and standing before the open grave he swept his hand to a salute that might have been given to a king.
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H. L. Gee walked away with this soldier, and as they walked the wind blew the soldier’s raincoat open; and now H. L. Gee saw the shoulder badges of rank. The soldier was nothing less than a brigadier.
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The soldier said to H. L. Gee: ‘You will perhaps be wondering what I am doing here. Years ago Thomas was my Sunday School teacher; I was a wild lad and a sore trial to him; he never knew what he did for me; but I owe him everything I am or will be to old Thomas; and today I had to come to salute him at the end.”
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William Barclay tells this story in his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel, and it gives one an insight into the importance of sowing seeds. Old Thomas, all those years ago, had no idea that he was even sowing seeds, but then no teacher or preacher ever does. It is God, the Holy Spirit, who takes the seed and makes it grow, and the sower often has no idea of what may grow from that little seed.
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Now, on a personal level, this story speaks to my heart, for I remember my Sunday School teacher whose message was very straightforward and also very simple. He encouraged us to always remember that "God loves you." I was about 8 or 9 years old. Mr. McDowell is the reason I am a preacher today and my message is his message from those years ago” Remember God loves you.”