Parable of the Sower

Reading: Luke 8: 11-15

Oh, the glories of spring, here in Oregon! It is still mostly rainy and cloudy; but when the sun comes out of the mist and a rainbow arches to the heavens my heart leaps with joy. There are lambs and foals in the fields and little bright colored leaves growing on the trees. The oaks are finally sending out their leaves signalling time to put in a garden.

It's been years since we planted a garden because we live in deer country and they eat nearly everything we plant. But this year, we put in a fence and we will soon have a garden and green house in as well.*  What a great time of year to ponder the miracle, the latent potential that resides in a single seed. With spring comes the hope of new life; along with the joy and anticipation of a good harvest.

Jesus, in His kindness and understanding of us funny little people found simple ways to speak of kingdom truth to us. He often used examples from farming that the people of Israel understood well, because it was their everyday life to grow the food they ate. In our day of going to the grocery store and bringing home little boxes of food; we can miss these simple truths, because farming no longer surrounds our everyday life as it did theirs. But as we consider the miracle of God's creation and ponder kingdom truth, God will open our eyes to see and speak understanding to our hearts.

Jesus spoke the Parable of the Sower to a large crowd. And when He had finished He said,

"Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand." 

Luke 8:8 NLT

I used the New Living translation of this particular verse because it brings more understanding of what Jesus meant. In the ancient language "hear" is used twice and is the same word. But in looking up the word it conveys the idea of not only hearing, but understanding as well. My own paraphrase would be "If anyone's heart is toward God, listen, pay close attention and grasp what I am saying." Jesus wants us as His people to hear and to understand. Later on, when He was alone with His followers they asked Him what the Parable meant. Do you find it amazing, that thru the Holy Spirit we can get alone with Jesus and ask Him what His words mean? I thank Him for providing the way to the Father through Him. Below He explained the parable to His close disciples as follows:

"... The seed is God's word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don't have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow to maturity. And the seeds that fell on good soil represents honest, good hearted people who hear God's word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest." Luke 8:11-15 NLT

What does Jesus mean in this parable? How did it apply to His disciples and the crowds that followed Him? How does it apply to us, 2,000 years later?

Fields of Gold by Sheri Dinardi

Consider the potential of a single seed. When planted, nurtured by the sun and water, it will grow into a beautiful plant that will produce many fruits and many seeds that will produce even more fruit. Jesus tells us in this parable that the seed is God's word being scattered out. The fate of each seed depends on the ground that it falls upon. So too, is the seed of the word of God. For it to have an effect in an individual life, for it to bear fruit it must fall on the fertile ground of a person with a good and sincere heart. Think of the potential when the seed of God's word falls on a sincere heart where it may be nurtured and grow to maturity.

Over the coming days and weeks we will dig into the Parable of the Sower on this site. I pray you will check in and sojourn with us as we look to Jesus to speak into each heart with ears to hear. But even greater, my prayer is that you will take time to enter into the presence of God, through Jesus with a humble heart, ready to hear from Him, to learn from Him, and ultimately to be transformed by Him as you read the seeds of His words in your own Bible and they speak to you.

Ask the Lord today to speak to you about this parable. Tell Him you want to have an honest good heart that will hear His word and produces an amazing harvest of fruit in your life. Just think of how it would feel to have "fruit of the Spirit" so much a part of who you are, that it is your nature every day. Jesus' "Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control" part of your every day that you live. Imagine having His gentle nature be so much a part of your being that you can not imagine living any other way... His love and mercy, His humility and strength, His power under full control. We are being transformed glory by glory into His likeness as we behold Him with open hearts, in His word. Cling to His word and be patient in the work of the Spirit.


*Note: Since the original writing of this post, we did put in garden beds and a greenhouse. Now we not only plant a summer garden, with tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, etc; but we also plant a fall and spring garden with peas, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, chard, radishes, etc. We have participated in the miracle of God. I marvel when a few days after planting a tiny seed, little leaves emerge from the ground and later we harvest food to eat. Our peas, beans, radishes and tomatoes have created such abundance that we have to share with family, neighbors and friends. Thank You Lord for your miraculous creation in the natural realm and in the spirit realm as well. I pray that you give us eyes to see and ears to hear Your Spirit in our life.