10.3.11

by Ryan Amos

Yard work. Long overdue. This past weekend was catch-up time for the lawn. Mowing, edging, clipping, pruning… all the usual suspects. Some of these tasks had been put off for far too long, but their reign of terrestrial terror was about to come to an end.  My mower and I humbled that yard and took it down; the edger and I brought carnage upon those blades of grass that had dared to overstep their rightful boundaries.  #showeditwhoisboss

But perhaps the peskiest part of the project (way too many p’s… just like Campbell’s Chunky Soup) was the task of getting down on hand and knee to pull out the weeds/grass that had grown in between the cracks of the driveway. Knuckles scraping on the concrete. Weeds refusing to uproot. After so easily taming the rest of the yard, it was nice to finally have a real challenge, a chance to prove my honor.

And it was in these moments of carefully plucking these darn nuisances from the driveway that I was reminded of the parable that Jesus shares in Luke 8:4-15:

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: “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 rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among 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.”
When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that,
‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

One of the great things about the Parable of the Sower is that Jesus was cool enough to go ahead and explain it. The disciples might have wondered why Jesus was going all Burpee on them, so they asked him what the story really meant. Jesus tells them why he speaks in parables, and then step-by-step he clarifies for them what each element in this narrative represents. It’s a parable that represents all humanity and how it responds to God’s message and plan for salvation. But for this blog entry, we’re not going to dissect and talk about those basic details. Jesus already did. Just read verses 11-15.

Let’s focus directly on what this means for our faith. Jesus tells his disciples that the seed (the word of God) only survives when it’s planted in the good soil. Everywhere else the seed does not take root. As a believer and follower of Christ, I want my heart, my soul, my life to be like that good dirt that’s hospitable to the seed, that welcomes and has the word of God firmly planted within it. I want to have a “noble and good heart” and I want God to use me as He produces His crop. These desires are certainly not of my own flesh and blood: God has given me a heart that longs for such things when He made me a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).

Don’t get me wrong, my life surely does not always reflect those desires. I am a sinful man who continually acts, thinks, and makes choices that must make God want to douse me in Roundup and be done with me. But by God’s grace, He has instead offered me forgiveness and salvation. We’re going to have our fair share of thorns, birds, and drought in our life, but if you’ve truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, you are the good soil and deep down your desire should be to live like it.

Now I know this phrase sounds bad, but I’m going with it… WE NEED TO SOIL OURSELVES FOR JESUS.

As I knelt there in the driveway, pulling the weeds/grass from the cracks in the path, I realized that I was like the birds of the air, coming in and stealing away the crop. And I thought to myself… how often in my life have my actions or words done the exact the same thing? In verse 15, Jesus says that the good soil hears the word of God, holds onto it, and if it perseveres, it produces a crop much grander than was sown. As believers, we’re called to persevere as that good soil to help grow the harvest.  #livelivesthatglorifyGod

Please take a moment to consider the question below and post your answer as a comment on the link to this blog found on the 242 Facebook page.

Here’s the question. It’s intentionally vague to give room for discussion.

What does it mean to you to soil yourself for Jesus and live a life persevering as good soil?

#pleasehelpuscreateanonlinecommunity