Matthew, Chapter 13 part 1

The Parable of the Sower is one of my favorite pieces of Scripture. To me, it is incredibly powerful and perfectly illustrates how the Message of Christ and Salvation is spread. I have decided today to separate it out with the Parable of the Weeds today in its own section apart From the rest of the chapter. Since our most important task in this life is to spread the Message it is important to know how that message is received. Ultimately, it is simply our task to plant seeds. At that point, we cannot control where they will fall or how they will grow.

3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. – Matthew 13:3-8

This may seem like a hit or miss style of preaching, but because of the nature of the human heart it is a very truthful message. Take a look around the congregation of your church the next time you are there. You'll likely see a couple of hundred people paying attention to the same message. It is very difficult to know the heart of any one of them except your own, however. There may be people that day that are fully focused on the message. There may also be people there that look focused, but they are distracted by the pace of life. This pace of life is preventing them from getting everything they need to get. There may also be people there that are discouraged and distracted by the enemy, therefore they too aren't getting what they need out of the message.

18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." – Matthew 13:18-23

As I read this I see how much the Holy Spirit is involved in spreading the gospel. I try to live my life in a way that I am constantly planting seeds through either my words or my actions. I am not the type to go preach on a street corner, but I view this very blog as part of my ministry. This section of Scripture shows that we are all called to ministry in some form. I feel my role is to simply make it clear where I stand and why I stand there. At that point, it is up to god to change hearts and make sure the plant grows. It is because of the nature of the human heart that I don't know what type of ground these seeds are landing on, but God does. The amazing thing is that with technology as it is today, someone on the other side of the planet whom I will never meet could stumble across these very words and be changed by them. This is the seed, and it is up to God to cultivate the plant wherever it may fall.

TODAY'S QUESTIONS:

1. How do you plant seeds?
   
2. Does this make it easier or harder for you to plant seeds?
   
3. How does this build your own faith?