Mark 4:3-9 (NLT)
3 "Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.
4 As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plant sprang up quickly,
6 but it soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil.
7 Other seed fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades so that it produced no grain.
8 Still other seed fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted." Then he said,
9 "Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"
Is it on the seed and its ability to thrive and grow based on where it lands? Obviously, God has allowed His message to be spoken and delivered in many places and in many ways, a small portion receive Christ, but a larger portion reject Him. Some, on the other hand, think the emphasis on the story is the soil and how receptive each soil is to the Word of God. Some people are so hardened they don't care, some believe in Christ only in a shallow manner and are not sincere. Others would like to have Christ, but they want everything else too and fail to come to a God who will only accept first place in our lives. I have been teaching the parable more along those lines. The other way of looking at the parable is to place the emphasis on the Sower. It is in His grace, that He even allows the seed of His word to be spread in unresponsive, shallow, unrepentent places as well as the receptive ones. In God's heart, He wants none to perish and allows His Word to be known by all who will receive.
I am always amazed at the many ways God has made for the Bible to remain fresh in our hearts. Take time to think of the parable from all three vantage points and see what God would teach you from them. Most of all, remember this:
John 1:12-13 (NASB)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,
13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
Have a great week!
