The Parable of the Sower And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.
Luke 8:4-15
So many things random things on my heart and mind this week, but God spoke right to my heart addressing not just one but ALL the points when I was listening to Francis Chan last night. Here's just one thing of many that I'd like to share:
My sister just celebrated her 22nd birthday, and she came to stay the night at school. We were studying, and Becca with her facts said, "Did you know that when you're around 80 years old, your chances of living to the next year is 50%?" And as we quickly calculated in our heads, we realized that we were quarter way there -- in a mile run on a track, that's already the first lap.
Urgency stirred up in my heart -- an urgency to love God and His people. But how? Last night and this morning, God spoke to my heart that I need to take His Word for my own. Read it, listen to it, and live it NOW. I rely so much to be inspired through sermons, through blogs, through even commentaries of the Scripture (which in no way are wrong; we do need all of those things). I need to rely on the Holy Spirit to teach and inspire me through His Word. So here I go back to the roots. Ruler, pen, highlighter. Reading, listening and living God's sermon, God's blog, God's commentary, God's Word -- the Bible.
Father, thank You for being so patient with me and Your people. I am so lazy, so stubborn, so short-sighted, so forgetful. But God in Your mercy and grace, You never stop loving, never stop pursuing, never stop speaking to me. Father, I pray for revival and transformation in the Church. Mold our hearts to be like Jesus, having a radical, deep compassion on people. We pray for wisdom, strength to persevere and faith that can move mountains. May Your word fall on the good soil of our hearts so we can hear what You want us to hear, and to ultimately, obey You. We love You.
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