SCRIPTURE:
Again Jesus began to teach
beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he
got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd
stood on the shore at the water's edge. He used parables to teach them many
things, saying to them: “Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow
grain. As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path,
and the birds came and ate it up. Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there
was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. Then,
when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not
grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. Some of the seed fell among thorn
bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. But
some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain:
some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred.” And Jesus
concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”
Then Jesus asked them, “Don't
you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? The
sower sows God's message. Some people are like the seeds that fall along the
path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. Other
people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the
message, they receive it gladly. But it does not sink deep into them, and they
don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message,
they give up at once. Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn
bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, but the worries about this
life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke
the message, and they don't bear fruit. But other people are like seeds sown in
good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some
sixty, and some one hundred.”
Mark 4:1-9, 13-20
OBSERVATION:
The parable of the Sower was so
important in the teachings of Jesus that it was mentioned in three of the four
gospels. In this parable, we see the Lord take a beautiful Scriptural allegory based
on a farmer sowing seeds in the field. The seeds are all the same, but the
differences lies in where they are thrown. And the Lord gives four different
outcomes based on the soil on which the seed falls. But foremost, we must
understand what the seeds are, and the Lord clearly explains to His disciples
later that the seed is God’s message. The Ultimate Sower is God, but His hands are
the servants of God who preach God’s message. Their job is to sow. The outcome
is primarily not dependent on them but rather on the soil. Naturally, they
would get a better return if they were to concentrate their message on good
soil, but the purpose of the parable here is not so much on the sowing, but on
the soils.
Firstly, some of the seeds
fall on the path, where the birds quickly come and eat it up. The Lord explains
that these are people who hear the message but receive no impact at all. Satan
comes and takes it away quickly. One could blame Satan, but the point is that it
was easy for him to take the seed away as it was on the hard path with no soil
at all. What would be the characteristics of people with hearts like that?
Typically, people who are proud and think they know everything, people who are
already in love with their own current way of life and unwilling to change no
matter what, and people who are already so in love with something in the world
be it another religion, a sport or even a music idol. Is this condition
permanent? No! Many self-made men previously unreachable found God during a
period of severe crisis be it business failure, marriage or family problems, or
health issues. In praying for those with hard hearts, we sometimes need to pray
for God to send a “hedge of thorns” to beset them, that they may realize their
need for God outside of themselves.
Secondly, some of the seeds
fall on rocky soil. They hear the message and receive it gladly at first, but
because there is not much soil, they fall way when persecution comes. This is a
very serious problem facing the church of God today, especially where the
people of God have become very used to a comfortable environment and they have
never encountered any serious persecution. Instead, the possibility of
persecution is completely ignored, and people’s attention are rather diverted
towards health, prosperity and blessing. Against this backdrop, even the
pre-tribulation heresy has become popular, leading Christians to think they
have a chance to be raptured before the Great Tribulation, and miss the reign
of the Anti-Christ and all its persecutions, a concept totally alien to the
tone of the rest of Scripture and the experience of the early Christian church.
So many of us are on rocky
soil, and we do not even realize it, thinking that we are good, matured
Christians who have been to church a long time. When persecution comes, it can come
suddenly like a flood, and our true devotion to Christ will be laid bare before
all. Right now, even when we are still not challenged by persecution, we
already need to prepare, to seek God earnestly and deeply, to grow deep in Him,
so that we will have the necessary depth and strength of relationship with Him
to carry us through in those difficult times to come.
Thirdly, some of the seeds
fall among the bushes, but because of the thorns, they are choked and don’t
bear fruit. What are the thorns? Jesus describes them as the worries of this
life, the deceitfulness of wealth and desires for other things. Worry is the
opposite of faith. It shows that we do not trust God to provide for us, to help
us in time of need. Worry is actually a sin. While we can only please God by
faith, we will certainly displease him by continuing in worry. We need to cast
our cares upon Him for He cares for us, and trust that He controls all the
steps we have before us.
Concerning the deceitfulness
of wealth, we must be always aware that wealth is a dangerous thing.
Inherently, having money is not sin, but the love of money is the root of all
evil. Those with plenty must beware lest their heart be entrapped by the
luxuries of wealth and the greed and selfishness that can quickly consume. We
need instead to realize that all that we have belongs to God, and that the more
He gives us, the greater the responsibility for us to use it for His purposes.
The prosperity gospel focuses one’s mind on riches, but the true gospel focuses
our minds on loving Christ, in seeking to live lives that please Him.
Concerning desires for other things, we must realize that in this world, there
has never been so many fascinating things that can captivate us, from the
myriad of brilliant computer games to the unlimited access to knowledge and
information of the Internet to the best of movies and entertainment of Hollywood,
Bollywood and KBS, and best of music and rock and roll today, and even sensual indulgence
in various Sports, Food, Fashion and Vacations. The call of the age today is that
which seeks to dominate our attention in everything for our own intellectual,
physical and emotional pleasure except for God.
Finally, only the seeds that
fell on good soil produced a crop, producing 30, 60, even a 100 times what was
sown. Those with good soil let the Word sink in deep. They were not deterred by
trouble or hardship or persecution. They did not let their worries grow. They
did not let wealth entangle them. They did not allow their desires for other
things impede their growth. They persevered and overcame, and bore fruit over
and over again in the way desired by the Sower.
APPLICATION:-
The challenge for us today is
to make sure that our hearts remain good soil for the Word of God! How do we do
that? Firstly, we must make sure our hearts are soft and ready to hear God’s
Word in humility. We must never have the attitude that we know everything and
become proud. Instead, we need to be sensitive to God’s voice and be willing to
learn, to move and let Him lead our lives as He directs us.
Secondly, we must not give up
when faced with persecution. In the first place, we must learn to expect
persecution as part of our Christian journey and not fear it. Instead, we need
to constantly pray for God’s grace to stand up under it. We need to beware of
false doctrines promising a problem-free life which is not Scriptural, but
endeavor to be fruitful and faithful to God in every circumstance.
Thirdly, we must be
disciplined not to get caught up in the worries of life, the deceitfulness of
wealth and the desires for other things. We are not just Sunday Christians, we
are Christians everyday, every moment. The work that we do, we do well, as if
to the Lord. In regard to our entertainment and leisure, we rein in, careful to
respond to the Holy Spirit lest we become too caught up in spending time on
things that do not profit us spiritually. For those of us with wealth, we need
to constantly pray for wisdom how to direct our giving. There is nothing wrong
in saving, which is good and prudent. Yet, there is always room to be generous
and give, as the Lord directs us. Some of us have far more than we would ever
need for a few lifetimes. Why not instead seek to channel our funds to make a
difference for the Lord according to His direction more and more.
Finally, remember that we need
to remain in Jesus to bear fruit. Let us remember our lifelong goal to know
Him, to please Him, to serve Him.
PRAYER:-
We thank You, precious
Heavenly Father, precious Lord Jesus, for this beautiful parable that is so
relevant especially in today’s age, where there is so much distraction, worry
and trouble in the world. Change our hearts we pray precious Lord! Cultivate
our hearts that we may allow Your Word to sink deep into us and transform us.
We entrust ourselves to You, precious Lord. Help us be faithful! In Jesus name,
Amen.
