Isa 32:20 Blessed are ye that sow beside all waters, that send forth thither the feet of the ox and the ass. We must sow not just in the church context or those who are comfortably Christian, but we must sow the seed of truth, the gospel in the family context of immediate family members as well as other relatives, in the context of our workplace, in the context of our neighbourhood. We must sow wherever God places us. The words, “ sow besides all waters” implies that we must look for hearts or lives that are not hardened by disbelief but are softened by the tears of sorrows and pains. We must sow by all the means available at our disposal. We redeem our lives by placing our faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. We redeem our time by sowing the seed of that truth wherever and whenever the opportunity arises. In so doing, we receive the blessing of fruitfulness in our lives. We will sow in tears and reap in jo Before the sowing, we must prepare the soil by ploughing. A word here, a smile here, a kind gesture there – all amount to ploughing. By ploughing we prepare the spiritual and emotional furrows in which the seed can be planted to bear root. When the seedlings grow to maturity, they will in turn become fruit-bearing trees planted besides streams of water. Our thoughts, words and actions will be both meat and medicine to people around. The kingdom of God grows from being a seedling into a plant, from a plant into a garden and from a garden into a forest. Each believer should not be contented in remaining a bonsai plant but grow to our full potential in Christ to be like a cedar of Lebanon. Even the birds that take shelter or alight for a time on our branches will drop some seed that will turn the garden into a forest. The bees and butterflies, too will cross pollinate the seed to produce an astounding variety of flora. As to the fauna, the Keeper of the garden will put a fence around the growing trees to preserve it from the crushing feet of any beast or foe. We must keep the links of the fencing close together by prayer and fellowship, praying for one another and encouraging one another to grow in the Lord. When we do our part of ploughing and sowing the good seed, God does His part. He promises to keep the plant or to protect it, to water it day and night and to watch over it. No plant is watered day and night but when it comes to faith, the Lord undertakes to nourish our faith round the clock. In drip irrigation, drops of moisture keep falling constantly on the growing plants. Similarly, drops of God’s Word should keep falling on our consciousness constantly. We must saturate our minds and hearts with meditation upon the Word. His eyes are upon the faithful. His ear is inclined to our mouths to hear our sighs and prayers. Prateep V Philip