Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
The seed sown by the sower is precious. Peter wrote, "you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (see First Peter 1:22-24). John also liked the analogy of seed, writing, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God" (see First John 3:9). They seem to agree with the parable of Jesus in that potential pitfalls of growth are not inherent in the seed itself but arise from the conditions of soil and growth that surround it. The seed itself is basically invincible. But if we want it to grow and bear fruit we will need to provide the appropriate environment.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
A superficial encounter with the word of God is not sufficient to plant it deeply within our hearts where it can transform us. If we receive the word carelessly, with little attention, content to hear only brief snippets or soundbites, it will not be hard for Satan to steal it away from us. This he does by a variety of means including sowing doubt in its veracity, or in leading us to questioning its goodness or its fairness, or simply by making us to forget.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Even if the word penetrates a little deeper than the path it might still encounter soil that is not conducive to growth. It might still encounter the hardness present in our hearts and find in them an obstacle to spreading its roots more deeply within us. Tribulation and persecution can become means whereby the rocks in our soil are destroyed and roots can grow. But it depends on how we respond at such times. We can cling to the word or we can prefer the comfort of leaving the soil of our hearts as is. The roots of the word can crumble to dust even the hardest of rocky soil, but only if we desire it, and don't give up when it no longer feels easy.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
The word wants to grow using the vital energy of the soil of our lives. But that soil is readily exhausted when spent in other ways, whether on anxiety, the lure of riches, or cravings. These things are dangerous not just because they choke the word but because the resulting symptom isn't lack of life or even necessarily lack of growth but rather lack of fruit. For those of us who have been Christians for a while this seems to be the greatest risk we face. The seed hasn't been stolen. We haven't turned aside because of persecution of trial. But how is our fruit? Is it possible that we are leaking at least some of our vital energy to causes less deserving than the word of God?
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.
Jesus does not rely on possible negative outcomes for the seed in order to persuade his hearers. He reminds us of the great good that accrues when the seed grows as it is meant to grow. He promises not just some fruit, but an abundance. Whatever else we might think to do with our soil, there is nothing so good and fulfilling as to bear this fruit that we are meant to bear. This is part of what Jesus meant when he promised, "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (see John 10:10).
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
The seed will do what it is meant to do if we receive it in the correct way and give it the space it needs. It isn't so much about our efforts as it is about getting ourselves out of the way so that the seed may grow. It isn't we who architect and design the growing plant. God himself is the gardener, the source of grace and growth. David thought his task was to do something for God, to build a house for him. But in the end it turned out that God was the one who would build the house for the heir of David. So too with us. Even our good plans, if stubbornly held, can get in the way of the grace of growth. Let us hear the Lord and give the seed the space and soil it needs.
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