You are probably like me and have read those verses many times before. Maybe you thought about them and knew what it meant and maybe you didn’t. As I was looking today I was really wanting to dig in to this one. One of the commentaries I read pointed out all of the many different ways that the crowd may have perceived this parable. The farmer may have thought “I should be more careful”, The salesman may have thought, “I can sell this Farmer something to help him not waste so much seed.” What was Jesus’ point in teaching this parable to a wide diverse audience? The disciples asked him later what it was and lucky for us he explained it and the author of Mark decided to include it for us. In verses 13-20 Jesus explains to the disciples that the seed here is the word of God and the ground is people and how they perceive the word. I don’t want to be the path that lets the word blow away in the wind or the rocky ground that has no root at all and lets the cares of the world choke out the word.
But I want to be the good soil, I want to dig in, I want to be one who bears fruit. I have to admit that I wonder when I think of this why Jesus would have taught this parable this way. Why doesn’t He want to just tell people what He means instead of saying it in a parable. Well for me personally, I have to say that I retain more when I dig more. I like to plant flowers this time of year. I don’t necessarily have what you call a green thumb. You know some people it seems can just put a seed in the ground and it is going to grow. My mother in law used to grow the most beautiful plants and flowers and when I would comment to her how beautiful they were she would always say well I just stick it in the ground and wish it well! And it would grow! I was amazed and I have to admit I do not have that gift! But I have learned a little bit. I have learned that the soil that you use matters. You need good soil for things to grow well. You need good soil for the roots to grow deep and grow strong. The better the soil, the better the roots and then the more beautiful the plant. A plant that is growing in good soil that has deep roots can grow healthy and strong and beautiful. I want my mind to be good soil for His word. I want my heart to have good roots so that when my mind digs into his word that it takes root in my heart and then I want my life to bear much fruit. I have also learned that sometimes things can appear dead on the outside but the roots are there, they just need to be watered and loved on so that the plant can flourish later. In Isaiah 55:11 it says “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” If you know someone or love someone that you have been praying for and they seem to have the rocky soil and the cares of the world are choking them out, grab hold of that verse in Isaiah and keep cultivating the word in them. Send them encouragement, let the words take root in their heart and dig deep in your own so that we can all bear fruit. I believe this gift of time we have been given is a good time to cultivate new things in our own hearts and to reach out to others and sow good seed in the heart of others.
Pray for our medical professionals today. It’s been nurses week this past week. If you know a nurse, hug them, virtually of course, send them a word, or a happy to make their day and let them know we appreciate them.
Restore 