The beauty of Jesus' communication was in the way He he taught in ways his listeners could understand. He did not come to earth and speak in difficult to understand "heavenly realm" language. Most of His audience of the day understood the concept of planting and sowing. They were aware of how seeds work and grow. This is why God chose to explain the kingdom of heaven in terms of sowing and reaping.
" Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have 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 seed
fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” Mark 4:3-8
The same principle happens with us when we hear the word of God. Our reaction to hearing the word can take on different methods of reception. Just like the birds of the air, satan can easily devour the seed of the word when it falls by the wayside. Other times the word can land in us and appears to take root, yet because it did not have time to properly grow, it's not strongly rooted. The first storm that arises causes the fruit to whither away. There are people who hear the word, but because of all the thorns in their life, the word cannot take root.
However, there is the good ground. This is where the word of God takes strong root and grows into a crop greater than anything we could imagine simply by looking at the little seed that was planted. When I read each of these situations, I see myself in all of them. Because of different circumstances in my life or because of my choices at the time, I was each of these grounds. Because of sin, each of us start out as thorny, rocky, soil. The more seed that is planted, the more work begins to happen in us to clear out our fields. As the seed is being planted, eventually some of it finds the little piece of good ground and it takes root.
We may not see the results of the seed growing. Our behavior may not immediately change. Our attitude may not immediately change. However, growth is happening even though we do not see it. In fact, most of our growth happens out of the sight of others. Just as this applies to us personally, it also applies to each and every person around us. Just because we do not SEE the growth we expect to see in someone does not mean growth is not happening. Never give up on someone simply because you do not see what you want out of them! Just keep planting the seeds!
The same principle happens with us when we hear the word of God. Our reaction to hearing the word can take on different methods of reception. Just like the birds of the air, satan can easily devour the seed of the word when it falls by the wayside. Other times the word can land in us and appears to take root, yet because it did not have time to properly grow, it's not strongly rooted. The first storm that arises causes the fruit to whither away. There are people who hear the word, but because of all the thorns in their life, the word cannot take root.
However, there is the good ground. This is where the word of God takes strong root and grows into a crop greater than anything we could imagine simply by looking at the little seed that was planted. When I read each of these situations, I see myself in all of them. Because of different circumstances in my life or because of my choices at the time, I was each of these grounds. Because of sin, each of us start out as thorny, rocky, soil. The more seed that is planted, the more work begins to happen in us to clear out our fields. As the seed is being planted, eventually some of it finds the little piece of good ground and it takes root.
We may not see the results of the seed growing. Our behavior may not immediately change. Our attitude may not immediately change. However, growth is happening even though we do not see it. In fact, most of our growth happens out of the sight of others. Just as this applies to us personally, it also applies to each and every person around us. Just because we do not SEE the growth we expect to see in someone does not mean growth is not happening. Never give up on someone simply because you do not see what you want out of them! Just keep planting the seeds!
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