Let God's love grow!

A sower went forth ...

At three different times in the Gospels – in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8 – Jesus describes one of the most fundamental principles of the Kingdom of God, a godly truth that directly impacts our ability to live within His plan, free of the world’s corrupt system. Here is what the Bible tells us: Jesus went out and sat by the sea. Great multitudes of people pressed close to Him, so He got into a boat and they stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

His closest followers would later ask Him: “Why do you speak to the crowds in parables?”

Artwork by graphic novelist Earnest Graham of the website Look Both Ways: Art and Faith

Why, indeed?

Spiritual things are a mystery to unspiritual people. The Apostle Paul explained it this way: “The human mind with its selfish and self-satisfying thoughts and purposes is hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s Law -- indeed it cannot. So people who choose to live solely devoted to their appetites and impulses cannot please God or be acceptable to Him." (Romans 8:7-8).

What that means is that most folks operate entirely in the flesh and not in the realm of the Holy Spirit. Because of this, they cannot understand spiritual things. So, Jesus chose to reveal some of the most basic spiritual fundamentals in parables – deep spiritual lessons taught through storytelling.

People could understand parables

As He talked, anyone listening could clearly relate to the idea of a farmer of that day spreading seed corn on his fields in the spring, hopeful of a good harvest in the fall.

Jesus drew that picture for the crowed, clearly fixing in their minds a much deeper lesson. In fact, as He prepared to reveal this truth to them, He said,

“Blessed, happy and fortunate are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear. Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men who were upright and in right standing with God yearned to see what you see. But they did not see and did not hear.

What Jesus was saying was that he was about to teach them something of enormous significance. He was about to unveil a truth that even Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel had never heard or understood.

Humans can’t always understand

Humans often have a terrible time accepting that God is the Creator. That’s so difficult for many people to grasp. In Genesis 1:3, He looked out at the dark void and said, “Let there be light!” He didn’t sit in his workshop inventing an incandescent lamp. He didn’t stir some great cosmic soup that evolved into the sun and stars. No, He just spoke the words. In the original Hebrew, God’s words are: “Light! Be!”

Try that sometime. Gaze out onto your empty driveway and declare: “Light! Come into being!” You will continue to stare out into darkness.

God alone can violate the laws of physics by simply creating something out of nothing. On the first day, He spoke and light burst forth. As Paul explains, “things which are seen are not made of things which we can see.”

The story continues …

As Jesus begins to share this revelation with His disciples, He compares the seed of the sower to His truth which is sown into the hearts of those of us who accept the Gospel.

Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

Jesus describes how some seed falls by the side, not onto fertile, plowed grown. He says the birds have a feast on these wasted seeds. We could also say that the birds symbolize the forces of darkness and confusion which absolutely do not want you to hear or receive the wondrous, life-giving truth of God’s love.

Why? Satan wishes for us to be destroyed. He wants us to live in misery, separated from our Creator. He wants us to die estranged from the One who loves us so. So, Satan does anything possible to cause the Word to be wasted.

For example …

If you are sick, the forces of evil do not want you finding Psalm 103: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

Nor does evil want you to be thinking too much about Isaiah 53:5 – “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”

And the evil which hates mankind certainly doesn’t want you praying over I Peter 2:24: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

But God wants you to find those gems of Scripture! He put them in the Bible for you and me – for our comfort, for our relief, for our assurance!

So, what does evil do?

It attempts to snatch away such a source of joy! It comes along with doubt, fear and unbelief – explaining away the miracle of the loaves and fishes (Jesus didn’t multiply the little boy’s lunch! No, the crowd was inspired to share the food they had hidden away!). After all, if the miracles didn’t happen then, they can’t happen now!

And what makes you think you are deserving of God’s mercies? None of us are! That’s what makes God’s love so wonderful! It is a gift given freely.

Jesus continues: Some seed fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth. They immediately sprang up, because they had no deepness of soil. When the sun rose high in the sky, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.

Artwork by graphic novelist Earnest Graham of the website Look Both Ways: Art and Faith

And He continued:

He went on to say: "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them."

But what did it all mean? Jesus explained: “Whenever someone hears the Word and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the roadside. As for what was sown on thin and rocky soil, this is he who hears the Word and at once welcomes and accepts it with joy. Yet it has no real root in him, but is temporary so that when trouble or persecution comes, he stumbles and begins to distrust God, Whom he ought to trust and obey. But instead, he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the pleasure and delight and glamour and deceitfulness of riches chokes and suffocates the Word, so that it yields no fruit."

You and I have seen it so many times. A dear brother or sister grabs hold of God’s promises. They delightedly begin to understand what God has for them. They are thrilled – filled with faith and excitement. After all, the Christian life all sounds so wonderful.

But there’s just one problem. They have no spiritual depth. They don’t meditate on and digest God’s truths on a regular and daily basis. They don’t spend time in prayer with the Lord, seeking His face. They don’t water the seed planted in their heart by reading the Scriptures and understanding God’s Word in solid fellowship with fellow believers who will help them to dig deep. No, the seed never really gets rooted. It’s all surface. Superficial.

And so, what happens?

When their faith is tested, guess what happens? Unbelieving friends and scoffers come along and begin explaining away the idea of a loving, caring, protecting God. They roll their eyes at the very thought of a personal Father who hears your cry and answers with His touch.

They personally have no faith in Him or His Word and accuse you of living in some fantasy world – yearning for “pie in the sky in the sweet by and by.” Or some professional "helps" them to see that believing in miracles is for weak minds and the foolish. They are not strong enough to hold onto the truth that they know is real. Yes, they believe the Word of the Lord that’s been planted in their hearts – but when they are ridiculed and mocked and told to get back to reality, they cave in.

Jesus continues:

Jesus went on: "As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the Word and comprehends it. He, indeed, bears fruit. It yields in one case a hundred times as much as was sown, in another sixty times as much, and in another thirty."

The wondrous promise of the Lord is good seed. There’s nothing wrong with that seed. It is designed to change your whole being. But like any tender seedling, it has to have soil free from weeds that will prevent it from maturing and producing the desired harvest.

The good soil is your heart, your spirit, your innermost being. The Word gets planted in you. But something happens. Actually, a lot of things happen. The transmission goes out on your car and the warranty has just expired. Your roof starts to look. The price of gasoline doubles.

Artwork by graphic novelist Earnest Graham of the website Look Both Ways: Art and Faith

You try to be your own Savior!

You’ve gotten so preoccupied with these worries that the Word of the Lord gets shuffled into the background. You stop depending on the Lord. All you can think of is how you are going to save the day. See what happens? Everything coming out of your mouth is worry, worry, worry and me, me, me!

You become so self-centered in your worries and concerns that the very thought of “casting all your care” on the Lord is forgotten! Instead of holding onto your faith, you embrace your worry, and wallow in fretting, doubt, fear and unbelief coming out of your mouth like horrendous thorns and weeds.

You become deeply depressed. The more you think about it, you realize your physical, emotional and mental well-being are in a downward spiral. You become convinced of one of evil's most common lies: All is doomed. The world is terrible. We live, we suffer and then we die.

That’s not how God wants us to be!

When Jesus told the parable of the sower, He didn’t stop with examples of the seed that fell by the wayside, the seed that fell on stony places, or the seed that fell among thorns.

No, He told the rest of the story: teaching His disciples about the Word seed that made it into good soil, weed-free, thorn-free, rock-free soil – rich soil nourished, fertilized and watered. In the old English of the King James Version, he said:

“But other seed fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Hopefully that describes you! You’ve heard the promises of God. You’ve received them into our hearts. You’ve meditated on His Word day and night. You’ve confessed His Word, defied scoffers who’ve laughed at your simplicity, your sincerity – and your faith. You’ve continued to stand in absolute trust. You’ve watered that Word with our prayers of thanksgiving.

And nobody can understand why you are filled with such peace.