Monday, June 24, 2013

The Parable of the Sower

I woke up this Monday morning to find peaceful rain falling outside, so I grabbed my Bible and my coffee and headed for the back porch to start my week with some quiet time.  I happened to be in Luke, Chapter 8, which is the parable of the sower.  The Word of God is living, so it speaks differently to your heart at different seasons of your life.  Of course I've read and heard this parable many times in my life, but I've always pictured myself as the one along the path.  Today I put myself in the farmer's shoes. 

 
"A farmer went out to sow his seed.  as he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path;
it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up."
 
 
"Some fell on the rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.
Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants."
 
 
 
"Still other seed fell on good soil.  It came up and yielded a crop,
a hundred times more than was sown."
 
 
I once heard that when you're growing seedlings, you don't immediately put them outside in the harsh elements, but instead give them a head start in the shelter of a greenhouse.  I think Jesus was sharing this idea with me today in his parable in regards to raising my little seedlings. 
 
As I scatter the seeds of truth into their lives, I have the important job of protecting it from those the devil might use to trample it down and steal it away.  As those little seeds of truth are growing and taking root in their hearts they must be strengthened with prayer and time to develop their own relationship with God.  When given this time to mature in a safe environment, their roots will grow deep and the tree will not be easily withered when a time of drought comes. 
 
My seedlings must also be protected from the thorns of this world - life's worries, riches, and pleasures.  These worldly thoughts will attempt to choke the truth and must be guarded against.  I must also keep our greenhouse weeded of external influences who will try to compete with their worldly pleasures against the truth. 
 
The seedling grown in this safe environment of good soil will mature and have a noble and good heart, retaining the truth, and by persevering produce a crop a hundred times more than was sown.  This is my prayer for my children; that they would grow strong and mature in Christ, not easily swayed, and when they leave my greenhouse, produce a crop of their own.  


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