As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty (Matthew 13:23). One should take the time to read the whole parable in Matthew 13:1-23.
Preaching and teaching can be discouraging business because sometimes it seems as if one's teaching is making little if any impact on the students. There is an old saw that says, "If a kid hasn't learned then the teacher hasn't taught." There is some truth to that, but in truth, very little. The teacher is responsible to do the best teaching he or she can do, but the actual learning depends on the attitude of the student.
Some attitudes are so negative that teaching and discipline is rejected without thought. Others are smart and receive teaching quickly, but lack the discipline to stick with it and, as a result, the teaching dies from lack of use. Still others receive the teaching, but competing interests and lack of focus chokes it out. Finally, however, there are those students who receive the teaching and are emotionally mature enough to incorporate it into their lives according to their ability--the parable teaches that not all good students have the same capacity.
It might seem as if the parable is saying that only 25% of folks are going to bear very much fruit from the seed of the gospel. However, in some fields the whole field is good soil and the fruit of the teacher/preacher is astonishing. In other fields there are large amounts of compacted, shallow and weedy soils so the labor is hard and the harvest is meager. The one who labors in these fields has to plow, water, fertilize and weed if there will be any harvest at all, but the truth is that there will always be a harvest. If one is faithful in sowing the seed of truth, there will always be a harvest.
One of the reasons Jesus taught in parables was to separate the customer from the window shopper and the serious disciple from the fair-weather follower. Which one are you?
Grace&Peace;
Tom
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2 comments:
Funny-I was just reflecting on this parable in relationship to my life..the soil..my soil..when it comes to the truth of God's word.
I struggle with getting God's love for me and that He is for me and not against me...my past has alot to do with it ..sometimes I get a glimmer of that I know He does and is and other times it is "Am I sure??" --will i get to the end and Him say.."depart I don't know you'
Maybe this isn't really a good comment to this area..but sometimes the past seems to just take over and honestly i don't know how to dig into the good soil...I look at the fields around and they are doing well...how do i get to the fertilizer ??? or how does one apply??
If He is the sower and if in Him we live and have are being ?? I get confused real quick...How do i give God good ground...????
Justasiam, I John 1:9 is my favorite scripture. It is a promise written to Christians. I have had to return to the Lord time and time again confessing my sins and asking forgiveness. If we recognize our sins he has promised to forgive them. God can easily recognize the difference between a truly penitent heart and an insincere one. If we cannot rest on that promise, what can we rest on? There is no Christian who has stopped sinning, but there is no true Christian who wants to make sin a way of life. For those Christians the Lord will never say "depart from me, I never knew you." If you are not content, justasiam,with your fruit production, it is a good sign that you are in good soil.
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