It was grandparents day at Christ The Savior Academy which is a school at St. George Orthodox Christian church. My grandson, Reid, a prekindergarten was excited that his Nana and Papa were there. All the children put on a great display of what they were learning at the Academy and quite honestly, I was impressed. My grandsons whole class (prekindergarten) did the ABCs in sign language! Not only did they teach them the ABCs but as they were teaching them they added in the sign language! What a gift.

The Impossibility of this Thought

During the presentation, the whole school, some 55 students, stood up in front of the audience and as they were singing a song, I suddenly got tears in my eyes. It took some effort to stop this display of emotions and after I gathered myself, I realized what I was thinking about that made me so emotional. I looked at each student standing before me and was thinking how much pain they are going to experience before they leave this earth. At that moment I wanted to relieve them of all of the pain this world was going to inflict upon them throughout their lives. Of course, sanity returned and I realized the impossibility of this thought.

All of the sudden, some Scriptures from the Bible came to me which placed me in a state of complementation. The Scriptures that came to me are as follows;

Matthew 13:3. Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

[4] And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: [5] Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: [6] And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

[7] And some fell among thorns; the thorns sprung up, and choked them: [8] But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. [9] Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This was His explanation

At first, I thought it was strange because the Scriptures did not seem to fit this occasion at all. Then my mind wandered over His explanation of the above teachings and things started to make sense. This was His explanation to the Scriptures you just read.

Matthew 13:18-19 KJV

[18] Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. [19] When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one , and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

[20] But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and immediately receives it with joy; [21] Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

[22] He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. [23] But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it ; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

What I gained from the experience with the children at the Academy coupled with the Scriptures is that we are all sowers – especially us parents. The children that were standing in front of me were the seeds and at the present time these seeds are in good soil. If they continue growing in this good soil they will ‘prosper and bring forth great fruit’ in their lives. But in order to do that, they have to ‘hear the word, and understand it.’ We as sowers have to teach them the word and help them to understand it. Christ the Savior Academy is a great place to have our children planted. What a blessing this garden is. But let this not allow us to avoid our own responsibility to our little ones and their growth. There are others gardens just as good that you could use. I do not need to tell you how the world, being evil, ‘chokes’ the word from our children and does everything within its power to make them become unfruitful. It is our job and duty to raise our children right in all areas of their lives. We should feed them healthy and nutritional food so they will remain healthy in their youth and old age. Fast foods are not the answer. We should watch with diligence what goes into their minds. This includes what they watch on television and movies you allow them to go to. Shouldn’t we also include your active attention in regards to their use of their computer? We should also make Jesus Christ real in their lives. Read the Scriptures to them and explain what they mean. Pray with them before meals and at bedtime. Teach them spiritual principles to handle life’s problems. Teach them how to forgive, to love, and most of all, how to suffer. How to suffer for that which is good. This is the duty that God himself has placed upon us. We are accountable for the fulfillment of this duty and will be judged according. He has given us the responsibility of sowing the seeds of the next generation. Sow wisely.

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