[Paul and Barnabas] returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
Acts 14:21b-22 (NIV)

Living in Iowa, one tends to earn a great appreciation for farmers. Even the Iowa Hawkeye football team wears a sticker on their helmets with the letters ANF (“America Needs Farmers”). I was raised in the city of Des Moines, but I still have learned a lot about farming simply by living here and knowing many people who did grow up on a farm, including Wendy.

I have a friend in the seed business. His job is to help his company’s seed produce as much of a yield as possible. As I asked him about his job, I found out that it had a lot to do with helping their farmer customers make sure the soil has the right chemical balance for the seed to thrive.

In today’s chapter, Paul and Barnabas conclude their first missionary journey, in which they visited towns on the island of Cyprus and Greek towns on the mainland north of there. By the end of the chapter, they return to home base in Antioch to report that many people believed in Jesus and they were able to establish gatherings of Jesus followers in towns throughout the region. That said, their experiences were mixed.

On Cyprus, they were invited to speak with the Roman Governor, who became a believer.

In Pisidian Antioch the reaction was mixed. The Jews there largely rejected Jesus’ Message, but many of the Gentiles in the town believed.

In the town of Iconium, many believed but this created great division within both the Jewish and Gentiles communities. Those who rejected Jesus’ Message plotted to have Paul and Barnabas stoned to death.

In Lystra, the large Greek community were wowed by a miracle, but they missed the connection to Jesus’ Message. The crowd declared Paul and Barnabas the incarnation of Zeus and Hermes and tried to offer sacrifices to them. The plotters from Iconium arrive in Lystra and the crowds end up turning on Paul and Barnabas, stoning Paul until they thought he was dead.

In Derbe, everything seems to have gone well and many people believed Jesus’ Message.

As I meditated on the diverse general responses Paul and Barnabas received to Jesus’ Message, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ parable of the Sower. The seed is tossed, but it falls on different kinds of soil. The success of the seed to end up taking root, growing, and producing a yield was dependent on the condition of the soil on which it landed.

I had a friend and fellow blogger who just last week asked me about these chapter-a-day posts, and how I manage my expectations with regard to the number of visits, clicks, and likes I receive. The truth is that the only way I’ve been able to keep doing these posts is by constantly reminding myself to surrender any expectations I might have. Like Paul and Barnabas, and like Jesus’ parable, I am the sower. The yield is dependent on the heart-soil of each one who reads or listens.

The same is true as I attempt to live, act, and relate to others in the fruit of God’s Spirit and share Jesus’ love with others. Some may sense something in me that attracts them. Others may be repelled. I can’t control the heart-soil of those around me, I can only control the quality of the seed I’m sowing in how I live and love.

If you know anyone who might be encouraged by today’s post, please share.