Wednesday, March 16, 2011

The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13: 3-9 & 18-23)

“A farmer went out to sow his seed.  As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.  Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.  But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.  Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear.”  Matthew 13: 3-9


“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”  Matthew 13: 18-23


Like most of us I remember hearing the parable of the sower when I was very young.  It is a simple story and I thought that I had learned everything that this story had to offer.  After reconsidering this story, I feel like there is a much more to think about.  There is quite a bit more depth than I could have possibly imagined when I first heard this story.


The Path 
". . . some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up."  "When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path."


Think about the word: "path."  A path is a  worn down route that many have followed.  It has been hardened by frequent travel.  For a path to form, many people have walked over it trampling out most or all of the life along the way and packing the dirt to hardened surface.  A path's sole purpose is to be used by others to get where they want to go.


Are you part of the path?  Have you allowed yourself to become devoid of life and hardened? Have others used you to get where they want to go?  Of course you have.  We all have.  You have to keep your faith in God where all good things originate.  With God, hope springs eternal!


When you choose to remain part of the path, you turn away from God.  


Jesus tells us that the seeds in the parable are "the message about the kingdom" of God and I believe truely understanding the message brings with it grace, mercy, forgiveness, peace, joy, love, wisdom, healing, and every other good gift possible.


It is your choice to remain a part of the "path" or to follow a way that leads to believing in and receiving the only truly wonderful and lasting gifts.  God is eager to give many wonderful gifts to you.  Don't be the path.


Rocky Ground
"Some [seeds] fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. . . . The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." 


I hate to admit it, but; I can identify with being "rocky ground".  I think I have pretty much grown out of it.  But I am the type of person that is full of energy and excited when I first enter a new opportunity and then as time passes things involved with the opportunity get boring or too hard.  When I see God's handiwork, I get excited and then as time passes, sometimes my excitement dwindles into nothingness.  I think it is human nature to be motivated by truly wonderful and beautiful blessings only to lose that motivation over time.  How many of us are pointed in the right direction by a moving sermon only to fail to follow up with a concrete action?  How many Americans were true patriots for months and even a couple of years after 911 only to lose some or most of that patriotic fervor before 2011?  I have been a member of my church for my entire life and I have never seen the church as packed as it was the Sunday after 911. Some of us have so many rocks in our soil that it would seem that we need to be very afraid before we will seek God.  I know; I'm casting stones. All of us have stones or rocks that we need to cast out but preferably not in the direction of others.  


The "rocks" in our "rocky ground" are those things in our lives that serve as obstacles to successfully receiving the Word of God and benefiting from all that follows being rooted in the word.  What is standing between you and God?  Remove those rocks now and let the Word of God take root.  I hope and pray that without the rocks in my life I can thrive in my walk with God.


Trouble, persecution, situations that make us feel awkward are part of life.  It is only these rocks that are making your soil shallow.  Let's remove the obstacles and allow the seeds of the sower to grow strong roots.    


Among the Thorns      
"Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. . . .The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful."


I think most of us can understand how the "worries of this life" can "choke out" the fruits of the Word.  I know that I am not alone when I say that I can testify that if you let the "worries of this life" rule, life can be Hell on earth.  I have always been a worrier - Thank God - almost always my worries have been needless.  In my experience, most worrying is needless.  The closer I get to God, the less I worry.  


But allowing the worries to dominate your life are not the only types of thorns that may thrive and choke out the small plants that have sprouted from the seeds.  Do you place being rich or sexy before seeking God?  Do you seek business success or popularity before seeking God?  Allowing worries or any other desire to dominate your life or even take a place higher than God in your life will just as surely choke . . . you . . . out.  God is constantly having to remind us not to follow these false gods.  When any other thing(false god) takes priority over God in your life, you lose.  Don't feed the thorns in your life. 


Be the Good Soil
"Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.  Whoever has ears, let them hear. . . . But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”  
  
I feel like that I am so familiar with living the path, rocky ground, and among the thorns of life that I could use some spiritual "miracle grow".  


If you identify with one or all of the wrong ways of living, how do you prepare yourself to become good soil?  I'm sure there must be hundreds of ways to change your life into the "good soil".  I have found that I have been most successful at preparing my soil by:  finding opportunities to pray as often as possible, attending church regularly, and simply reading the Bible and reflecting on what you have read.  Probably the best way to "be" the good soil is to find ways to be a blessing to others.


The "message of the kingdom" is more than just words.  The Words of God are living words.  Living words provide real and tangible gifts to those that are willing to receive the gifts of God.  And probably even more rewarding are the gifts from God that are given to you to share with others.
Be the Good Soil!

No comments:

Post a Comment