PARABLES OF JESUS: SOWER

“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.” ~ Matthew 13:3

REFERENCE:

Matthew 13:3-9

A more familiar word for a sower today is ‘farmer.’ Jesus taught here what farmers in His days went through during harvest – productivity is different for seeds sown; there are harvests that are worth the while, and there are disappointing ones. This is because of the type of soil they grow in. Jesus used this parable to show the link between our capacity to receive truth, instruction, training, etc., and our productivity in life. Two students sit under the same lecturer, and one comes out tops, and the other fails. Why? Capacity to receive.

The farmer went to sow, and the seeds fell upon different kinds of soil. The soil represents the capacity to receive seeds, but for humans, it is the disposition of our minds (heart). Jesus described different dispositions of the mind by comparing them to soil types:

1. Wayside Soil: This kind of soil is exposed and treaded by different feet. It depicts a heart not guarded but exposed to all kinds of information. Anything goes, and every road is a road; anybody (bird of the air) can change their minds from what they learned and deceive them.
2. Stony Soil: This person is unwilling to receive new information; it enters one ear and goes out of the other. He neither gives thought to what is learned nor finds ways to apply it. He shows early promise (like he will turn out well) but fails for lack of depth and thought. When the heat of life’s tests and pressures arise, he quits everything he once believed.
3. Thorny Soil: This speaks of competing affections and information. This person is distracted by the cares of life. He lacks the power to focus on one thing, on the important thing. His mind is here and there, with too much going on in his head. All these eventually choke the good that was supposed to come from his learning, training, or instruction.
4. Good Soil: A good soil is soft and can embrace seeds. This person is willing to learn and considers truth so vital that he nurtures it. When it comes to learning or truth, such a heart is attentive, receptive, retentive, and productive. He will not compromise the truth for anything but will ruminate over it and apply it to his life until he sees the results.

Farmers today make ridges to plant seeds; instead, eastern farmers scattered them. This is why the parable says, some ‘fell,’ not ‘planted.’ Productivity comes by deliberately building your capacity to receive; you cannot blame the sower – teacher, parents, church, school, or pastor, because while you blame them, someone else who was exposed to them is doing very well. Deliberately choose the kind of receptivity and productivity you want to have now.

PHOTO QUOTE

ADDITIONAL TEXTS: 

Matthew 13:18-23, James 1:22-25 & Hebrews 4:2 

PRAYERS:

+ Lord, I repent for my carelessness towards receiving instructions and being productive.

+ Give me a focused and teachable heart. Help me rise above distractions to be the person you want me to be. I commit to being attentive, receptive, retentive, and productive of Your word and instructions. I will begin to see abundant fruits in all areas of my life, in Jesus’ name.