Mt 13:3-8
3And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
BLOG DISCUSSION QUESTION: Something to think about: what if the recipients of the seeds are not people, but a person?
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6 comments:
I know I am like all the seeds. I let important moments get eaten up by time and world pressures. Sometimes I can get so excited about something then the sun comes out and scorches my enthusiasm. Other times I have an opportunity to grow but let other things choke out my chances and never give it another thought. But I am greatful for the times that things take a firm hold and no matter what the weather, distraction or consequence I am firmly planted, and I thank God for those moments.
It is so true Pastor J that the recipient could be not many people, but one person! I thnk of the story of the man walking along the beach throughing star fish back into the ocean one by one as they washed up on the shore. Someone said to him, "You will never be able to save all the starfish that are washed on shore so why do you continue to through them back?" The man threw another starfish back into the ocean and stated, "It made a difference to that one." As a teacher I know that I am not able to make a huge difference in ever child's life that I work with, but I can do my best to try and plant the seeds in each one and nurish them. I will depend on how they recieve the seeds though. Some of those seeds may be choked by thorns in their lives, fall on rocky ground, or be scorched. However, there maybe that one or two students were the seeds that I plant may actually grow. It is the same in the Christian faith. I can plant the seeds and I can continue to nourish those that I have planted and maybe even spend time discipling a couple to nourish those that I feel could help further the kingdom that way they too can begin planting their own seeds.
If the recipients of seed was a person and not people, I would not have received seed. That's a big deal for me. The sower was not selective in sowing. He didn't look for a safe seeding bed. The parable begins not with the sower looking for good soil, instead ..."A sower went out to sow."
KevKat, in your teacher illustration, you do plant the seed in everyone (people) and with the nourishment there will be a harvest.
I know a little about seeds. Start at the beginning, sow the seeds, then take care of them, and there will be a harvest....It might even be in the spring, but even then you will be Thankful!
In this parable the sower is not the issue. The seed is not the issue. The soil is the issue, the condition of the heart.The heart condition as a result of hearing and accepting the word when you proclain the gospel. Jesus said you have ears but do not hear, have eyes but do not see.A condition of the heart. The fool hates knowledge and wisdom.
Question? Is the seed that falls on good soil is the only place it is expected to grow? It is logical that we think the environment has to be right. Or the heart of a person as KD expressed be right.
I think of the Black Hills and how out of a rock, a tree can grow! An unlikely place, but there it grows! I am thankful that we are given the opportunity as people to hear the Word over and over, and sometimes after hearing or even studying the Word, something new is discovered. So I am also thankful for the sowers in the story, a much needed part for planting the seed in sometimes unlikely places. Our expectations for where to sow, could limit success of God's plan. Yes there are some people who may never open their ears, but on the other hand, each person, due to the persistence of the sowers, continuing to plant the seed, may just find that seed can grow in the most unlikely places.
I have always thought that this parable has to do with people, not individual persons. That is to say, that the seed sown by the sower might find itself falling upon a person whose heart is heart, who heart is tangled, whose heart is rocky, or whose heart is soft and fertile.
But, as I have been thinking about it, isn't it true that all four of these soils exist at the same time in each of us....and maybe what Jesus is saying is that the sower (who in my mind is the subject of the story) sows the seed (which is an extention of the subject of the story, in my mind) into each person with such extravagant generousity that it will find the good soil that is there, somewhere. And when it finds its place, a fabulous harvest (and this is why I think the sower is the subject...it is his harvest) is produced.
If this parable is meant to be read this way, I find this to be a parable of GREAT HOPE.....HOPE for someone like me who may have some less than fertile soil in my heart.
MMMMM....something to think about.
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