13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Jesus explains the parable of the sower. The sower sows the word and the word meets four different kinds of recipients. The first is the seed falling on the path where the Satan snatches the word and the person doesn’t receive it—they don’t believe at all. The rest of the seeds falls on different degrees of receptive soil where it is able to take root. These three are all believers. The first is the rocky ground where the person receives the word and believes but there is no depth or maturity so at the first sign of trial or persecution they fall away. The second is the thorny ground where the person believes but again there is no growth or maturity. These people become more concerned with the cares of the world, the lure of riches and the desire for other things and are prevented from bearing any fruit. The final person is the one who receives God’s word, believes, and then grows to maturity in faith bearing fruit. Which soil are you?
It seems obvious that a lamp is lit to give light and it would make no sense to put it under a basket or a bed where its light is useless. God’s word is meant to shine a light on the condition of our hearts and we should be changed by it. The more we accept the truth of God’s word and allow it to change us, the more fruitful we will be. The more fruitful we are, the more useful we are to God and the more He will entrust us with. The more He entrusts us with and we continue to be faithful with, the more He will reward us one day in Heaven. If we are not faithful in obeying God’s word, then God will take away in the form of discipline and loss of rewards in eternity. How receptive are you to God’s word? Is it a light you place high to continually shine on your life or are you hiding it so it has limited affect on you?
Just as a farmer is not able to do much about the growth of the seed he sows but he must wait and let it grow. The same is true about the sharing of God’s word. God’s word has power in itself and God will do the work of growth in people’s lives. If we have opportunity, we must sow God’s word through sharing and preaching and then trust God to bring about the fruit.
We have personal responsibility to listen to and respond to God’s word in our own lives. We are also called to share God’s word with others but then we can safely leave the outcome of that in God’s hands.