Monday, April 19, 2021
Listen! 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, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Mark 4:3-8
Fertile Soil = Abundant Growth
Jesus told many parables - or stories - to help tell others all about the His Father’s kingdom and the Gospel story. One such parable was the parable of the sower, in the verses above. He described what the parable meant to His disciples -
Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive 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. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Mark 4:13-20
By using this parable, Jesus wanted to impress the importance of the state of our hearts when we read, hear, and study His Word. We decide what kind of soil we have. It is not a matter of chance. If you are not intentional, Satan will take every opportunity he can get to snatch the seeds that have been planted in our lives before they can take root.
If we do things that help us to grow in our relationship with Christ, such as going to Bible study and church, or having a quiet time every day, without planting what we learn in fertile soil and continuing to nurture it, we will lose it. Without roots it will not last and we quickly fall away from what we started.
Sometimes we hear and learn and know, but we let the circumstances of our lives dictate what we believe to be true, or we let the idols of our lives remain in first place without giving God the throne of our hearts that He deserves. As long as we are holding onto idols, there is no room for God to come into our hearts. We may have seeds and a little bit of nutrients, but we won’t have fruit.
Like a beautiful garden, when we plant our seeds in good soil, and intentionally take care of them with nutrients (reading the Bible, church, worship), and keep the weeds (sin) out, God will produce abundant crops from our relationship with Him. Again, we make the choice. It comes down to what we want in our lives. How much of your life do you want to give Him? The only way we experience all He has planned for us and grow, and in turn help others grow, is to choose to give it all to Him. When we hand over our hearts and allow Him to cultivate His word in fertile soil, we will experience the abundant life He has planned for us.
