God’s people have a major responsibility and that is sowing. This of course is an agricultural metaphor and it includes more than the simple scattering of seed. It would be so very easy if all we had to do was to scatter seed on a cultivated and prepared soil. However that is not the case. Notice with me the words of the prophet Hosea:
Hosea 10:12
Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
Good and effective sowing requires a breaking up of the ground and ridding it of weeds and other obstructions. That is the meaning of “fallow”. Fallow ground was a ground that had been freed of trees, shrubs, weeds and rocks and then plowed and left for a time, possibly a year or more before it was planted. This gave time for weeds to die and the soil to mellow so that it would be a good seedbed. This clearing of the land and preparation of the soil is an additional responsibility of the sower.
It would seem to me that a careful meditation on this text in Hosea would clearly expose our responsibility to address the issues of sin and the requirement of righteousness. True Christian evangelism requires an acknowledgement of personal sin and a repentance that is evidenced by a commitment to righteousness coupled with a faith in Christ. It is not just adding some “salvation” theology to your present selfish, worldly values and lifestyle. Christianity has taken on such a worldly face these days and I believe it is because there are few who wish to take up the difficult and unwelcome work of “breaking up the fallow ground”.
