3‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.’
Blog Discussion Question: If this parable is about God, what does it say about God?
7 comments:
I guess I had never thought about this parable actually being about God. It is usually one that you look at and think of yourself being the sower and spreading God's Word. So this is something new to think about. In the time this parable was written, seed was scattered by hand so some would land in good soil and just like the parable says some would land in places were it would bear no fruit for the harvest. Maybe what this parable is trying to discuss is that God spreads His seeds all over hoping that it will land and bear fruit for His Harvest, but as we all know there are many things that are in this world that do not allow for God's seeds to grow and flourish such as idols, money, politics, etc. Or I don't remember the number, but there are places in this world that have not heard the name of Jesus. Oh yes, we all know that He is working there and is there, but they have never actually heard the name of Jesus Christ. I find that so hard to understand there are people who have no idea who He is!! Hope you all have a great day and good question Pastor J!
I guess I had never thought about this parable actually being about God. It is usually one that you look at and think of yourself being the sower and spreading God's Word. So this is something new to think about. In the time this parable was written, seed was scattered by hand so some would land in good soil and just like the parable says some would land in places were it would bear no fruit for the harvest. Maybe what this parable is trying to discuss is that God spreads His seeds all over hoping that it will land and bear fruit for His Harvest, but as we all know there are many things that are in this world that do not allow for God's seeds to grow and flourish such as idols, money, politics, etc. Or I don't remember the number, but there are places in this world that have not heard the name of Jesus. Oh yes, we all know that He is working there and is there, but they have never actually heard the name of Jesus Christ. I find that so hard to understand there are people who have no idea who He is!! Hope you all have a great day and good question Pastor J!
Guess I've always thought it was about God and we are the different kinds of soil. The seed is God's Word. It's a parable that NONE of us would think we are that impossible, un-growing rocky soil...but then on second thought...if we realize it is US that is the rocky soil...we'd better get the shovels and rakes out...mighty quick! God furnishes "all the rain and sunshine" that we need--each and every day. Thanks be to HIM!
God, the Master Gardener, never gives up on us. He keeps planting until we are like "good soil" until our faith is rooted and strong so that none of the elements that we are confronted with can shake us. We in turn can do the same for everyone around us. What amazing grace that he never gives up on us. MJB
I would say that this has something to do with your actions and words. If you try to live a life centered by Christ, chances are most of the seed will be sown and will land in the good soil. But since no one is perfect, when we do something or say words that are hurtful and sinful, this seed will probably/hopefully reach the wrong places and not develop. I doubt if this is an answer to your question. If it only was as simple as that!! Thanks, too, Praise, for your encouragement; I will keep trying the best I can.
Sparrow--a thoughtful concept that I had never considered....it's best that some of the soil is rocky so that our hurts that we do to others will not develop!!! Like you say, "If it were only that simple!" Pastor Jerry, have you ever thought about it in that light? See...I told you, Sparrow, we NEED your thoughts and insights!
Thanks for all the blogging.
One of my favorite songs in the new Lutheran Hymnal is "Lord, let my heart be good soil." I know that I rarely good soil, and my only hope is that God would take who I am and transform me to be the soil in which his word takes hold and grows to harvest. After all, the four types of soil that the parable speaks about have no way of changing by themselves.
It reminds me of a farmer in one of my previous churches who bought land that no one else wanted because he didn't have the money to buy better land. Over the course of the years, through good soil management and natural fertilization (cow manure), his farm became a well producing farm. He even was honored by national farming organizations for his transforming work.
Lord, let my heart be good soil.
But back to the question....what if this parable is about God more than about the soil? Might it not tell us how wildly generous he is....sowing with reckless care in hopes that if there is good soil anywhere, it will catch a seed. Might not this tell us something about our sowing of the seed of the Gospel....are we too careful...are we too fearful...are we too timid....mmmm. We tend to operate out of a belief in scarcity (there is only so much to go around), but when it comes to God and his love there is no scarcity. So, why worry about where we sow it? God doesn't seem to.
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