Where
Did the Seed Fall?
Have
you ever sat around a campfire singing and telling stories? It is always fun but even more enjoyable when
you hear stories about Jesus. Just think
what it might have been like if we could have sat around the lake and listened
to Jesus as He told the stories. Let’s
step back in time and imagine as we read this scripture that we are sitting at
the lakeside listening to Jesus. Be sure
to put your listening ears on and hear what He is saying.
Matthew 13:3-9
New
International Version 1984 (NIV1984)
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the
seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky
places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil
was shallow. 6 But
when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. 7 Other
seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on
good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was
sown. 9 He
who has ears, let him hear.”
Why
do you think Jesus told this parable?
What was He trying to say through it?
Let’s take a look at each of the different situations and see where it
leads us.
1. The seed fell in the path and the birds came
and ate it. As I thought about that I
had to think of the people who may claim to be atheist or maybe just humanist. They either believe this is the only life
there is and they are going to make the most of it or they believe they are
their own god and they make the rules and live by the rules. If they are going to make it in life they are
going to do it their way as the popular song goes, “I Did it My Way”. They are walking along on the pathway of life
and seeds are being scattered. They run
into people who are Christians and they laugh inside at what these people are
telling them. The seed that was
scattered by the children of God is eaten up because the path that they are
walking on is hard due to their constant beating down the wrong path and no
seed will penetrate through it so the birds eat it up. So are their hearts, so hard that nothing
will penetrate it.
2. The
rocky places, have you ever been there?
In this passage the people that come to my mind are those who are
looking for love. As the song goes, “Looking
for Love in all the Wrong Places”. They
may have found a high in drugs, alcohol, or sex and have found themselves in a
rocky situation. They may have found a
moment of happiness but when reality hits they find themselves right back where
they started from or maybe they find that it is even a worse situation than
they started with. They find themselves
in prison, expecting a child out of wedlock, or maybe in the hospital with a
drug overdose. Someone comes into their
lives and tells them about a loving God that will solve all their problems and
they quickly get on board. What they don’t
realize is that at times things are still going to be rough and because they
have not been grounded properly in the word and they have not established a
relationship with our Lord and Savior when the rough times come, they turn back
to what they think will get them through.
3. There
are those who say yes to Jesus but are unwilling to give up their friends. Those friends that have been with them
through thick and thin but who have a bad influence on their lives. On this one I have to think of the theme song
from Cheers, “Everyone Wants to go Where Everybody Knows Your Name’. In this show everyone sits around the bar and
is honest with each other. They seem to solve the world’s problems around
that bar but are they a good influence on each other? I never once heard them proclaim that Jesus
is Lord and I never heard them say, “Let’s pray about the situation right now”
around that bar. Instead they just
wanted another beer to drink as they contemplated life. In order to grow in Christ, we have to get
out of the bar or away from those who have a bad influence on our lives. If we don’t their negativism towards the
Gospel will choke out anything we thought to be true.
4. Now there was
seed that fell in good soil and it produced an abundant crop. My husband used to be a farmer and in order
to have good crops he had to work the soil breaking up the hard soil and getting
rid of the weeds and then he had to fertilize the soil and then he planted the
crops. After the crop was planted the
work really began as he watered the crop, watched for disease, wildlife would
sometimes come and want to eat sees or the produce and then the weeds started
to come with the good seed. At that
point, someone with a hoe would have to
go into the field and chop down those weeds.
The same took place in my garden, the soil was tilled, I planted seeds,
pushing them into the ground and covering them before the birds came, I watered
the ground and of course I chopped many weeds down in my garden and if I didn’t
stay on top of it the weeds would soon take over the produce. Good soil does not come easily, there is a
process, one that is not easy but must be done in order to have a fruitful
crop. You may ask, “What
song does she have for this one?” It
would have to be, “Bringing in the Sheaves”
as a line in this song goes, “they will come rejoicing, bringing in the
sheaves.”
The
questions for today are as follows:
Can
you identify with any of these four scenarios?
If so, which one?
Do
you need to get out of the rocky place, are the weeds keeping you away, is the
path hard from you walking on it and from the lack of rain?
Or
are you producing a crop in the good soil?
Take
special note that in each and everyone one of the situations there can be good
soil. The path could be tilled and
watered and it would no longer be hard ground and the seed could go inside
rather than staying on top for the birds to eat, the rocky ground could become
good ground if the rocks were removed, and the ground with the weeds could produce
an abundant crop if the weeds were chopped down. None of these are easy task and I have to
think of those big boulders in our lives that are sometimes hard to remove but
as I think about that, a verse comes to mind where Jesus is talking about
another seed, Matthew 17:20. 20 He replied, “Because
you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a
mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it
will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
(http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2017:20&version=NIV1984)
Did
you hear that? Nothing is impossible
when you have faith the size of a tiny mustard seed? Those boulders in your life, those weeds, and
that hard soil can all become good soil when you have faith in Jesus Christ our
Lord. Will life be easy? Not in the sense that there will never be
problems, sadness, or heartbreak but when you give that to the Lord and see
that He is in control, there is a peace that passes all understanding and He
will wrap His loving arms around you.
Life is life, full of sin, disappointment and despair but there is an
everlasting life that is abundant and well worth the wait, I have faith that
this is the life for me, is it for you?
As
you seek Him and find Him may you remember to go and spread the seed to those
who find themselves on the wrong path, in the rocky ground, or in the weed infested
soil, bring them the Good News of Jesus Christ and help them cultivate the soil
in order produce abundant crops.
Seeking
Him with all my heart,
Sheila
No comments:
Post a Comment