Date: Dec. 11, 2012
Passage: Mark 4:3-8 and 14-20
Scripture:
"Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
The sower soweth the word.
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."
Observation:
Here Jesus, as He did so often, was using an object lesson to make a point. He used a concept His listeners were familiar with (farming) to illustrate how freely His followers should spread His Message. The farmer scattered his grain generously, knowing some would grow and some wouldn't. Christians should spread the Love and Word of Christ as urgently and freely to people we come in contact with as this farmer scattered his seed.
Application:
I love this story. It used to discourage me almost - how sad to think of all the seed scattered but refused. All I used to see was that out of four types of soil/people that received the seed/message of God's love, only one group took it and grew.
But a couple of years ago I saw a wonderful encouraging picture in it. Yes, some will be unaffected and flat out refuse. Some will be discouraged and hindered and distracted and choked out. But some will receive and grow. And even of those, some may only grow a little, but some will flourish amazingly.
The kicker though, is that even in the discouragement, there is hope. And that is why I love this story.
The hard-packed pathway that the birds stole the seed from could, over time, be softened, worked, plowed, fertilized, and replanted, and bring forth fruit after all.
The place full of rocks that had no depth could be, with much sweat and labor, cleared, the stones hauled away, and the earth plowed and planted and bring forth fruit after all.
The briar patch that choked and wounded could be chopped and mowed down, the briars be burned, and the soil plowed and planted and bring forth fruit after all.
Each type of ground or person, though at the moment it looks hopeless, with patience, determination, hard work, and love, can become receptive and made to grow.
Prayer:
"Dear Lord, help me not to give up hope in Your power to change a life! Help me to be able to do what I can to soften hard hearts or encourage discouraged ones so that they can take in Your Word and love and be made to grow in Your new Life. Help me to be generous in my sharing of the seed of Your Salvation. Help me to see results through my efforts; but if not, help me to remain faithful and never give up."
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