The seed is the word of God

Luke 8:4-21 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

⁴ When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

⁹ His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. ¹² Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴ The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

Do you ever wonder at the fact that not everyone who hears the simple truth of God’s word believes it and receives it? The parable of the sower sheds some light on the reason behind that. First it says:  “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. The mysteries of the kingdom, God’s truth cannot be discerned by or with human reasoning or logic. 1 Corinthians 18:18-19 says:   For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”  In John 4:23-24, Jesus says:   an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."      Not only must those who worship God worship in spirit and truth, but because God is spirit and He is infinite and eternal, we cannot comprehend or understand God with human reasoning, understanding God requires spiritual discernment.

Although in our culture and society there is a concerted effort to remove absolute truth in favor of relativism, the truth is there are still absolutes. There is good and there is evil. There is darkness and there is light. As we look at the parable of the sower, we see that the results, the lack of fruit, is never the fault of the seed, God’s word. The word of God through the prophet Isaiah says:   “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts. ¹⁰ As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, ¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:9-11)   God’s word is true, it will accomplish what He desires. Where there is no fruit of God’s word the fault does not lie with God or the word.

Let’s look at each condition, each place where the word lands in the parable, the condition or the circumstances of the heart of men. First: Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Why, when many people hear the message of salvation, will some receive and believe while others do not? How often does the devil convince people that what they have done disqualifies them from the forgiveness and redemption of the cross? The devil says: “That’s not for you.” Or, “that’s not for now, you’re not ready, first you need to do this or that.” The good seed, the truth of God’s word, His love, His redemption, His promises to restore and provide are snatched away by the lies of the devil and the voices of the world.

The second circumstance or condition is: Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.  It is easy to see this scenario played out in the lives of those who struggle with addictions. They live a rocky life, with no sure footing or place to develop roots. They are always looking for the next thing that will satisfy their desire. While the word of God is true and God’s promises are sure, they do not always provide the immediate result, “the fix” that the addict seeks. The truth is that whether we are addicted to drugs, alcohol, or some sort of licentious lifestyle, in truth we are addicted to self satisfaction. In order for the truth of God to overcome that condition of our heart we must allow it to take root within ourselves, otherwise we too will be tempted and return to fill ourselves with the unsatisfying things of the world.

The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity.  This certainly is a condition which is prevalent in our culture and society today. It is amazing that two things that are so opposite of each other are the two things which bring so much destruction into our lives. Our culture and our society is obsessed with work and pleasure. Work because of the deceitfulness of riches, so many today sacrifice their lives, their families and their well being striving to get ahead, literally working themselves to death, both physical death and spiritual death. There is also an obsession with pleasure, the pleasure of this life. Our culture and society thinks nothing of spending millions of dollars each weekend to sit in theaters and watch fantasies or subject our minds to violence. We fill stadiums watching sporting events or concerts, again spending millions of dollars and much of our time being entertained. We watch reality TV to escape reality rather than live a real life focused on relationships with those around us.  We/ they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. How many in our culture and society today, as adults, still live in their parent’s homes seeking only entertainment and self satisfaction, not seeking to produce fruit?

Finally there is:  the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. For those who have been blessed, who have received the truth of God’s word and His promises, we are not to simply sit back and ourselves enjoy the fruit of our life in Christ. We are to bear fruit. We do that by becoming sowers ourselves. Jesus says: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Ecclesiates 11:6 says: Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle,  for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well. John 7:24 says:  Do not judge by appearances…     We should not concern ourselves with the condition of the hearts of people, we don’t know what preparation God and His Spirit have done in their lives. We should, as Jesus says in Matthew 5:16: "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” We should live as a light and as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 1:23-25:  we preach Christ crucified,… Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for the revelation of the truth of Your word in my life. In my life, I have at times been all of these types of soil. Thank You for Your love and patience to continue to sow Your truth in my life. I pray that now I may live and speak in such a way that others too would see and hear You, that they too would hear, receive and believe. Amen.