Bountiful Sowing

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 26, 1902

WE know that we are living in the sowing time, and we are to remember the admonition, “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days. Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou knowest not what evil shall be upon the earth. . . . In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.”

We are to give a portion to seven, and also to eight. The practice of the Indians in sowing their maize teaches us a good lesson in disseminating the special message for this time. They always sow seven grains of corn in one hill—one for the crows, one for the moles, one for the worms, and one for the squirrels, and the three remaining for the harvest. They sow more for the chance of losses than they do for the harvest. In this act is illustrated the practical teaching of the Saviour when he says that some seed will fall by the wayside, some on stony ground, and some among thorns. We should not be discouraged when we see some of our efforts seemingly lost. We should sow the more bountifully, that there may be enough left to yield one hundred fold in the harvest.