The Parable of the Sower may be the most important parable that Jesus taught. This is what He said about it, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?”
As you read it, you might ask yourself, “Do the cares of this world like worry and anxiety, the need to get ahead or something else weigh me down? Have I drifted away from my relationship with God? Or worse, am I hard-hearted toward Him?
In today’s post, we’ll see how the Parable of the Sower can help us better answer those questions and show us where we need God’s help to grow and change. Perhaps, even to understand and receive the gospel for the first time.
Welcome, to “God’s Word Day by Day” where I blog through the Bible in a Year. I hope you’ll join me every day. If you’re not already signed up, you can do it here. This year I’ve added a couple of new features. First, check out the “Free Resources” tab at the top. You’ll find a downloadable, printable PDF with “Going Deeper Study Questions” for each day’s post. And … this year you’ll find the daily “Bible in a Year” posts on YouTube. The daily emails now have a link to both these Soul Survival posts and the YouTube videos. I hope you’ll sign up. (If you already receive them, no need to sign up again.)
Today’s Readings:
Leviticus 15 & 16
Psalm 26.6-12
Proverbs 10.8
Mark 4.1-20
13 Things to Do When You Realize You’re Not Growing in Christ
Mark 4.1-20:
The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Sower is perhaps the most important of Jesus’ parables. Jesus Himself said:
Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (v. 13).
In it, Jesus talks about four kinds of soil and relates them to the receptivity of our hearts to the gospel and God’s Word.
What kind of soil is your heart?
Hard Ground
The first kind of ground Jesus pictured in the Parable of the Sower was hard ground:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.
This is the often trod ground along a pathway where it’s hard for seeds to take root. It’s easy for the birds to come and snatch them away before they penetrate the soil.
This might be someone who has heard the gospel but is too busy, hard-hearted, or self-righteous to give it any serious consideration.
Stony Ground
The second kind of soil is full of stones:
5 Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.
With this person, trouble and persecution, the rocks, keep the seed from reaching water and the burning sun of persecution and trouble causes it to wilt and die.
Maybe he ventures into church one Sunday and later a friend says, “You did what? You went to church! You’ve got to be kidding!” And out of embarrassment, he doesn’t go back.
Or she starts reading the Bible but it’s hard to understand. Maybe a friend says the Bible puts down women and Christians are homophobic so she puts it away to think about some other time.
“You Look Like an Intelligent Woman!”
Once when I was flying to a conference, after a long delay in taking off, two women were seated who had rather obviously been in the bar when the rest of us had boarded. One sat down in the seat next to me. I happened to be reading a book that had the word sin in the title. After I greeted her, I went back to my reading. I was aware that she was looking over my shoulder, then at me, then back at my book and then back at me.
Finally, she asked a question that was spiritual in nature but when I started to reply, “The Bible says …” she quickly interrupted me. In a voice that must have been heard throughout half the plane, she said disgustedly, “The Bible! You look like an intelligent woman! You believe the Bible!” At that, she demanded the flight attendant reseat her and bring her a drink. All this before the plane had even gotten off the runway.
How would I have responded had I been a new believer? I can’t say for sure. Or what if I had been someone merely interested in the things of God, perhaps reading a Bible or booklet for the first time? According to the Parable of the Sower, scenarios like this can cause a person whose heart is rocky, to pull away from the things of God.
Full of Weeds
The next kind of soil is full of weeds:
7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.
Thorns and thistles use up the energy and nutrients needed for the plant to grow up healthy and fruitful. The cares of this world (worry and anxiety), the deceitfulness of riches (always trying to get ahead) or the desires for other things (wanting what you want) choke the Word so it bears little fruit.
This person often has more important things to do on Sunday mornings like extra hours at work or a job that prevents them from being involved at church altogether. Or the kids have soccer games so if the family comes at all, they trail in late still in their uniforms.
She worries a lot and finds it easier to gossip and complain than try to understand how to respond biblically. And she’s often focused on all the things she wants and doesn’t have.
But there is one more kind of soil pictured in the Parable of the Sower.
Good Ground
Jesus called the fourth kind of soil good ground:
8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.
This person accepts the Word, believes it, trusts in it and allows it to bear much fruit. But this doesn’t just happen.
While God is the one who draws us to Himself and He is the only One who can produce the fruit, like the farmer who waters and weeds, we do have responsibility. We must respond to the gospel in faith and to God’s promptings with our obedience.
But what if one of the other three descriptions in the Parable of the Sower sounds more like you?
Hard-Hearted or Stony
Maybe you recognize that you have been hard-hearted toward the things of God.
Or maybe you have felt a stirring in your heart toward Him but have pulled away out of fear of criticism or a reluctance to surrender your life to Him.
Pray and ask God to plow the ground of your heart. Often He already is, sometimes through tests and trials. Instead of rejecting them or allowing them to push you away from God, turn to Him.
Talk to someone you believe has a genuine relationship with the God of the Bible about the gospel.
You might also check out one of the following posts:
“Do You Live with a Sense of Guilt?”
“Could You Be a Christian in Name Only?”
Full of the Cares of This World
Or maybe you realize that you were once involved in the things of God. You were going to church and making some changes but you got distracted by other things. Life got busy. You felt you needed to focus on school or work or some relationship. And now God is not a part of your day-to-day life.
Ask God to grant you repentance and a desire to grow and change (Ps. 51.10).
Get back to basics.
Find a good Bible-teaching church. Don’t search for a church that looks and acts like the world where the music is more like a concert than worship offered to a holy God. Or one where you are told God wants you comfortable, happy, and prosperous. Look for one that preaches the Word and tells you what you know you need to hear not what you want to hear. Make sure what they teach is based on the Bible itself.
If you don’t know where to start, you might check out the list here. If you have trouble finding one, leave me a message in the comments and I’ll try to put you in contact with someone in your area who can help.
Read the Bible
Read your own Bible. Cultivate a desire for it. In many ways, it’s an acquired taste. David said in Psalm 34.8:
Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
In John 6 Jesus said:
27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.
35 … I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
And in Psalm 119 the psalmist said:
9 How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
10 With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
11 I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
If you are not sure where to start, read the book of John, the fourth book in the New Testament. Then read the book of Romans asking God to help you understand.
Pray & Prioritize
Pray. Talk to God. No fancy words are required. If you’re not sure where to start, you can pray what is often called “the Lord’s Prayer” (Matt. 6.9-13). First, read it in context (Matt. 6.5-15). Then pray each verse thoughtfully, thinking about what it means.
Sit down and evaluate your priorities. Ask God to help you. What things in your life have crowded God out? Ask Him for wisdom to make appropriate changes. Pray for His help to become good ground.
Don’t Get Complacent
But does the Parable of the Sower have anything to say to those of us who, while we understand we’re not perfect, are seeking to follow God? Here are a few things that I thought about.
Don’t get complacent. When life is good we can be in great danger of slipping back. Continue to grow.
Make sure you are reading your Bible regularly and systematically. It should be the plumb line that guides your life (Jas. 1.22-25).
Find a good church and stay committed. Get involved with a body of believers who are loving and serving one another and holding one another accountable in their walks with God.
Listen to God & Others
Develop one on one relationships with people who will help you grow (Tit. 2.1-5). Invite them to speak truth into your life and respond gracefully when they do.
Finally, pray and ask God to search your heart on a regular basis (Ps. 139.23-24; 1 Cor. 11.31-32; 2 Cor. 13.5).
May your heart and mine be good ground. May we have a desire to drive our roots down deep into God’s Word and absorb all the nutrients found there. And may God give us the grace to grow and produce much fruit for the kingdom of God and His glory.
Today’s Other Readings:
Leviticus 15 & 16:
Only the Blood of Christ
Chapter 16 talks about the Day of Atonement. This had to be done annually because the blood of bulls and goats could never do away with sin.
Only the blood of Christ takes away our sin permanently and allows us to have fellowship with God. Jesus was temporarily separated from God the Father when He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” (Matt. 27.46), so that we could be united with Him permanently.
Psalm 26.6-12:
Because of His Sinless Life
Verses 6, 11 & 12:
I will wash my hands in innocence; so I will go about Your altar, O Lord, … But as for me, I will walk in my integrity; redeem me and be merciful to me. My foot stands in an even place; In the congregations I will bless the Lord.
This is not a claim of innocence based on David’s own merit, but a recognition that it is through God and His mercy that we are redeemed. But we must first acknowledge that we are sinners, unable to redeem ourselves, and accept the truths of the gospel. That’s the only way any of us can “stand in an even place” with confident faith and trust in the Lord.
Proverbs 10.8:
A Prating Fool
The wise in heart will receive commands, but a prating fool will fall.
The wise man or woman is teachable. She listens to wise counsel and doesn’t see herself as always right. On the other hand, “… a prating fool will fall.”
The fool doesn’t stop talking long enough to really listen to what someone else is saying. Even when the other person is talking, she is thinking about what she will say next. Sadly, I know I have been guilty of that myself. May God help us to be teachable.
Coming Up:
In the coming days, we’ll talk about friendship, the secret things of the Lord, and 4 keys to waiting on God. We’ll also look at the questions, “Why does the Bible talk so much about blood?” and “Can demons be religious?”
I hope you’ll sign up so you don’t miss them.
Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Note about this post:
I began blogging through the Bible in 2012 and have done so every year since then. These posts are the product of many edits and additions throughout those years. Some days I make major changes, other days fewer.
A while ago, I read Jen Wilkin’s book None Like Him about the attributes of God. One is His incomprehensibility. In it, she says, “God is incomprehensible. This does not mean that he is unknowable, but that he is unable to be fully known.”
I have found that to be true each year as I’ve gone back through the Bible. Sometimes I find myself feeling as if a passage just appeared there for the first time. I’m reminded that no matter how many times we read through the Bible, we have only scratched the surface. I hope you feel the same.
Indeed these are the mere edges of His ways,
And how small a whisper we hear of Him!
But the thunder of His power who can understand?” (Job 26.14)
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