A Sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and some fell upon the rocks; and some fell among thorns; and others fell on good ground.
It does not take a lot of wisdom to know that there was only one condition in the above parable that was pleasing to the Sower. There are some absolutes in this parable we should consider.
First, this man was wanting a crop, so he planted seeds so they would grow and yield a harvest.
Secondly, he was a liberal man; which is evident by the method in which he planted, casting His seeds all about. Surely, he could see that not all the soil types were favorable to yielding a good crop. He sowed anyway, giving the soil equal opportunity to produce fruit.
Thirdly we have the soil conditions in which the seed landed. This is a parable depicting the world, and the gospel story; we could say it is the call of God going out into the world. God is wanting to reap a bountiful harvest in the world, saving the souls of men.
In many ways, we have nothing to do with the first two conditions. God is liberal wanting everyone to be saved, and so he calls men regardless of culture, race, background, or condition of the heart. He liberally calls hoping that His precious seed will take root in the hearts of men and bring forth fruit. We have very little to do with that call. It may come directly through a thought, but more often it will come through a word spoken, a sermon, or an incident that happens, causing us to look at life and consider where we are.
The only thing we really can control is the environment of our heart. Now, to understand the full scope of what Jesus was talking about, it may be necessary to go back and read the whole account to understand each heart condition.
In the first, the devil came and took the seed away before it could take root. This is someone who hears, but their heart is hard and the word has no effect on their lives.
The second is when men hear, but there is little soil for the seed to grow. For a time, it may sprout and grow, but when temptation or a test comes, it dies because it has no depth. This sounds like an emotional or carnal Christian. The emotions become stirred but the heart does not really change. They lack the water of the Holy Spirit to flow through their lives to bring life and give power to endure the tests that come.
The third condition is someone who’s heart is not fully committed to God. They are not entirely void of God’s spirit, but they are too busy fulfilling their own desires and do not give God His proper place in their lives. Eventually He is crowded out or discarded. Maybe we could consider them as carnal Christians, man pleasers. They are not fully committed to serving God. They serve Him on their own conditions or when it is convenient.
The last condition is the prepared heart. This is the only condition in which man can experience what God really intended Christian life to be like. This person is someone in which the Word of God is the answer to all their needs. His or her heart has become prepared by the removing of those objects which caused crop failure in the other conditions of the heart. Sometimes it may be circumstances in which life has lost its meaning, and in desperation they receive the Word as a lifeline of hope. It could be that this person has cleaned out the debris from their heart and it is clean ready to receive God’s Word and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. They have confessed their sins and have been tilling the soil of their heart on their knees in prayer, seeking answers for life. The stones, and weeds have been removed and they are simply waiting for that infilling. When God’s Word lands in this heart, it will grow and produce fruit. This person will receive according to their capability, and the fruit of God will become evident, and precious to them. This condition is strikingly different than the others because it is the only sure condition in which we can live contented and sure of a home in heaven.
In conclusion, like is said earlier, we have little to do with the call of God, and His seed sowing, but we have everything to do with the condition of our hearts. The responsibility to have a prepared heart is up to us. God is faithful and will sow the seed, we can be assured of that. But will it find a place in my heart? Or is my heart too full of other things; selfish desires, lack of commitment, or financial drive so that His Word becomes lost in the stuff and noise?
On that last great day, we will not reap the reward of the faithful by our good intentions, but by the acceptable fruit that our lives bear. This will be the same for the one who has faithfully served God for many years or for the one who has only recently made a commitment. God is not interested so much in how much fruit we bear, but that it is of a quality that pleases Him, the fruit of the Spirit.
Our flesh never becomes so perfect that there are never rocks and weeds that grow. Living for God does not mean that we will never make mistakes or be selfish, putting ourselves ahead of God and others; we still will be human. Yet can I say in our humanness, is where the proof of the power of God becomes evident. We throw our hearts door open to God, inviting Him to come in and help clean out those stones and weeds of self-love, offense, and bitterness, and He does. Of ourselves we have neither the vision nor the power to clean out our heart. Part of the fruit which grows in our hearts is the humility and surrender which it takes to perform this act of letting God purge us. We cannot do this without Him.
The beautiful part of the conditions of the heart is that when our heart is full of the love of God, He then can use it to sow seeds of desire in other people. There is little in life that can compare to that quiet peace which radiates out of the heart of a surrendered child of God. That speaks volumes in the dark troubled world in which we live and is the hope we can hold out to those around us. We can then become a small part of God’s sowing process, sowing the seeds of God’s love, bearing the testimony of Him in our lives and hearts.
May we live in the surrender of His will.
1Ch 29:18 KJV O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee:
Job 11:13-15 KJV If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thine hands toward him; If iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away, and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles. For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot; yea, thou shalt be stedfast, and shalt not fear:
Amo 4:12 KJV Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
2Co 13:5 KJV Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Discover more from Faith Feathers & Dust
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
In Jim Elliot’s diary he wrote about the delirium of a surrendered life. I don’t have the exact reference but it’s been amazing to me again recently just how simple life is when we can just trust and obey. But oh how easily the weights beset us. Almost before we even know what’s happened we are slipping by the pile we left at the foot of the cross and sorting through it picking up our favorites again.
LikeLike