Good Soil – Luke 8: 4 – 15
The Parable of the Sower
4 When a great crowd gathered and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell on the path and was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 Some fell into good soil, and when it grew, it produced a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables
9 Then his disciples asked him what this parable meant. 10 He said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets[a] of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables, so that
‘looking they may not perceive,
and listening they may not understand.’
The Parable of the Sower Explained
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones on 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. 13 The ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe only for a while and in a time of testing fall away. 14 As for what fell among the thorns, these are the ones 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. 15 But as for that in the good soil, these are the ones who, when they hear the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patient endurance.
What does the Passage say?
V. 4-15 When the crowd surrounds Jesus, he tells them a parable. It is a story that we know very well. Jesus describes the four different stage of heart, and he asks us to be good soil, which bears fruit.
What does the Passage say to me/us?
Some people might say that the point of this message is to become a good soil to bear fruit. I agree with them. We are living in this world for God’s mission, and we are to bear fruit.
However, I would like to focus on v. 10. It says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but to others I speak in parables so that ‘looking they may not perceive, and listening they may not understand'” (v. 10 NRSV).
The focus is more on do we fully understand the secret of the kingdom or not. Then the question is, how to fully understand? And we will know that being a good soil helps us understand. But another question emerges. ‘Then how do we become a good soil?’
There must be many ways to become a good soil, but the most important part of it should be our willingness to become a good soil. Remember, in the story; we are the soil, not the farmer. The farmer has to make the soil good. Meaning that we need to be willing to become a good soil, and then the farmer will help us become one.
In summary, for us to fully understand the secret of the kingdom, we need to be willing for the farmer to make us a good soil. It might be hard and difficult. However, wouldn’t it be worth it? So my question is… ‘Are you willing?’
Prayer
Lord, we are living in this world to dream of your kingdom to come. The more we understand about the kingdom, the more it will be easier for us to live for it. Help us to have the willingness of heart, to be pruned and cultivated as a good soil. And use our life for your glory. In Christ Name we pray, AMEN.
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