In this story, Jesus begins to teach by the lake. A huge crowd gathers and so he goes out on the lake in a boat, while the people are gathered at the water's edge. It is said that Jesus liked to teach in parables, a.k.a. stories. So, he tells the crowd of people the story of the sower. A farmer goes out to the field to sow his seed. And this is what happens:
*Some of this seed falls along a path and the birds come and eat it all up!
*Some of the seed falls in the rocky places, where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly, but wilted under the hot sun and died because there was no nourishment in the shallow soil! It could not take root!
*Still, other seeds fell among the thorns and these thorns sprang up and choked the young plants, so they could bear no grain.
*And finally, some of the seeds fell on good soil! It sprouted, grew, and produced a crop - 30, 60, even 100 times what was sown!
When alone again with His disciples, Jesus explains to them the meaning behind this fancy little riddle. The farmer sows the word, God's message. When the seeds of God's message fall upon the hard pathway, Satan swoops in (like the birds) to devour all the word that was sown in them and make them forget. Others, like the seed sown on the rocks, welcome the word with joy! But because their roots are not yet deep, they "wilt" at the first sign of trouble or persecution. Then there are those who hear and receive God's word, but get lost in their worldly desires and struggles. This strangles the word of God in their heart and they fail to produce a crop. Lastly, the seed that falls on good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept the word and produce a plentiful harvest for the Lord.
Oh, how I desire to be the good soil that seed falls on! I don't want to be the hardened person who hears but does not understand. Nor do I want to be the unchanged weenie that dips out when the going gets tough. I want to put down roots! I want to produce a crop a hundred-fold!! Dig deeper into His word. Pray more. Water those seeds and let them bloom!
But how do we get there? Listen well to our Father. Accept and apply His messages with great trust! Allow ourselves to experience the depths of his truth, grace, and freedom! Let Him overwhelm us with His perfect, unfailing love so that we may live to bear much fruit!!
So, does your faith-life exemplify the good ground? If so, what can you do to increase that harvest just a little more? How can you go from 30 times what was sown to 60 times what was sown? If you have not put down strong roots yet, how can you dig a little deeper into your relationship with Jesus Christ? What changes can you make to strengthen that trust and faith?
Let us not allow those birds and thorns and weeds to distract us from the plentiful harvest we are purposed to produce!
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