In my journaling for the past couple of days, I have been reading from Luke 8, verses 4-15. It's where Jesus tells the parable of the sower. It is so good and has stirred so many thoughts in me.
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown."
Jesus goes on to describe to his disciples what this parable means:
"This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the Word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the Word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the Word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop."
All four heard the word, but only one produced a harvest. Reading that, we see that it is not enough just to hear the Word. To be truly transformed by the Word, we have to apply it - in obedience to God.
I was always confused about the "seed along the path" part, where it says that the devil comes along and takes the word from their hearts. I read in my Beth Moore journal that though Satan can take away the word from the hearer's heart, he can't take it away from the believing hearer's heart. Once we have received the Word, it is out of his reach. Now, he can try to distort our understanding of it, but he can't take it away.
I've seen the "Seed on the rock" many times. Those who come to church perhaps, or a bible study, and they are excited about what they hear, and receive it with joy, yet they never take the Word any deeper, and they fall away in times of testing, because they have no roots in God's Word. They really never studied for themselves and knew the truth.
The seed that fell among thorns. This is sad also. These hearer's are just too distracted and pulled away by things of the world. They look to other things for their gratification and pleasure, not realizing that the Christian life - knowing Christ - is the greatest pleasure and treasure in all of life.
Oh, how I want to be this last one - The seed on good soil! This hearer hears the Word and retains it. It becomes a part of that hearer, it becomes who they are and not just what they do. They feast on it, and wrestle with it, until it becomes their truth.
Oh, that we would hear God's Word and make it apart of us - that we would obey it and cherish it.
How I pray for us all, and for those we love, that He would find fertile soil in each of us. Then, as He promises - a harvest will come.
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