Mark 4:3-9,14-20, “"Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." 9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."… 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."”
We are many to know this parable. Most of the time, it is used in the context of evangelisation to make people be aware of the several factors that are involved in the reception of the message, when they preach the Gospel.
Today, I would like to offer a substantially different and much more personal reading of this parable. Indeed, let us remember that before speaking to others, the words of Christ are always first aimed at His audience. Jesus wasn’t talking to the absentees, but to those who were present, to His disciples, to those who would have to carry the torch after Him.
Viewed in this light, this parable relates to us directly and therefore, concerns the way each of us receives the Word.
The sower sows the word (vs 14): hence, the Word of God is a seed. By ‘‘word of God’’, I would like us to go beyond the Bible, beyond this Blog, beyond our evangelical books and even beyond our churches. Indeed,
Job 33:14-16,19, “For God speaks in one way, and in two, though man does not perceive it. 15 In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, while they slumber on their beds, 16 then he opens the ears of men and terrifies them with warnings…19 "Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed and with continual strife in his bones…”
Therefore, dreams, visions, trials, nature, TV, children, parents, friends, colleagues, conscience, readings, circumstances, opportunities and so on… are just some of the numerous means that God uses many times a day to speak to us. Did He not say that the stones will shout if His disciples stop praising Him (Luke 19:40)? There was even a time when He caused a donkey to speak, to stop the madness of a prophet (Numbers 22)!
These are the many seeds that the Divine Sower goes out to sow in our lives every morning. The many seeds that He wishes to see germinate, flower and bear fruits. How many of them do we allow to bloom? How many of these seeds, of those words, do we choke every day? How many of them are quickly dismissed for one reason or the other? When the sweet voice of the Holy Spirit makes itself heard in our hearts, how often do we pay attention to it and how often do we do what is required of us?
We only want the Lord to speak to us in the church or in dreams or via the prophecies of 'powerful' men and women of God; But what are we first doing with all the other words of God that we receive through the different channels that He uses at will? Let us start by being faithful with them before expecting to receive more. Let us fructify them instead of burying them like the wicked servant of the parable of minas and talents (Luke 19 & Matthew 25).
Jesus said: “The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.” (John 6:63) In other words, we cannot afford the luxury to neglect any of His word. He even warned: “…Until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished.” “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 5:18 & 24:35)
Each word that the Lord sends our way every day, has the power to give us life…abundantly, the power to enable us to bear a sustainable fruit and the power to prosper us.
Let us not be or no longer be, of those who see without seeing and hear without understanding because they have hardened their ears and closed their eyes in order not to convert and change their ways (Matthew 13:13-15).
On the contrary, let us be of those who understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, the listening docile who allow themselves to be transformed, for to them, more will be given and they shall be in abundance while even the little that the non-listeners have, will be taken away from them (Matthew 13:12).
Here we are at the end of January. God wants to change your life in 2011 and your life will change in 2011; but you must first change the way you listen to He who can do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING. Plough your heart so that it becomes a fertile soil, ready to receive the Word of God and the Seed of Life.
God bless you !
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