Storyteller - Day 10

It's Day 10 of my series, blogging through "Storyteller", the new Bible study from Sarah Koontz at livingbydesign.org. Thank you for joining me here.

Today's parable is the parable of the four soils, found in Matthew 13: 1 - 9 ...

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The parable describes a farmer planting seeds - seemingly randomly and indiscriminately! As he sows, some seeds fall along the path and get eaten by birds; some seeds fall on rocky soil, but they sprout quicklyand grow wildly, only to quickly wilt and die because they have no depth of soil; some seeds fall among thorns and are choked; but some fall on good soil!

You have to ask yourself why a farmer or gardener would do this? Why keep sowing seeds when you're only getting a 25% return on your efforts? Why not scatter your seeds more carefully, aiming only for the rich, loamy soil?

The answer is grace. Father God is like a sower who keeps sowing in spite of the birds, the hard ground and the thorns. He keeps sowing the seed in spite of what is, because He is a sower who keeps sowing for the sake of what might be! It's pure, reckless grace that keeps Father God spreading His Word and His love with abandon, anywhere and everywhere, because He knows they are never wasted and will never run out!

This parable leads me to ask myself two questions:

• what is the condition of the "soil" of my heart? Do I guard my heart and the Truth of the Word that's deposited there, or do the influences and cares of this world choke them out and stunt my faith?

And secondly,

• how well am I imitating the Sower in the way that I spread love and mercy in the world? Do I hold back from sharing the Gospel until I feel like people are "worthy" of hearing it, or do I love others recklessly, trusting Father God when He says, "so My word that comes from My mouth will not return to Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it to do” (Isaiah 55: 11 HCSB)?

"True transformation occurs — by the power of the Holy Spirit — as we study and apply God’s Word to our lives" (Sarah Koontz).